Do you know that about 70% of the patients feel that location plays an important role in choosing the clinic they would rather visit . That is why a good location can help you grow exponentially, and a bad location choice can leave you in a financial mess. And yet, when Doctors plan to start their own clinic, they don’t give it the attention that they should.

As a doctor, it is one of the most crucial decisions you need to make. And if you are just starting out your private practice journey, then finding the right location becomes even more important. Here are the 7 most important factors you should keep in mind before finalising the location for your clinic.

1. Rent

Can you afford it? Many a times Doctors make the mistake of renting an expensive clinic without even thinking about whether they can charge a higher fee from their patients to manage the operational costs. 

You should always rent a space that fits your needs and not your wants. At least in the initial days of your career. Do you really need a very large space? If you have 20-25% extra space available for your future needs, that is good enough.

Also, you shouldn’t rent a clinic that is very cramped and doesn’t even have enough space for patients to sit comfortably and wait.

Renting a clinic should not be an impulsive decision but a well thought out decision. Otherwise, it would not take long for you to drain all your savings to run the clinic.

2. Competition

Maintain a safe distance from a doctor with the same specialisation. If you have an established competitor with good reviews, you will need to spend a ton of money on your marketing and also keep the price competitive to stay afloat.

However, if you have other clinics nearby that are of other specialisations it will benefit you immensely. As, the people in that locality would already know about the availability of existing healthcare facilities in their area. Even, a clinic close to an old chemist shop would be a good choice.

3. Other businesses

You wouldn’t want to open a clinic beside a wine shop or Paan shop. Would you? Make sure to choose the location which your patients are comfortable visiting.

4. Customer Demographics

You need to know who your customers are, where do they live and how much can they pay? If the average price that Doctors charge in that area is Rs 500, you can’t expect people to spend Rs 2000 for your consultation.

You also need to find out if there is a market for your specialisation in the locality you plan on opening a clinic. For e.g., a plastic surgeon would be better off having a clinic in an area resided mostly by upper middle class and rich people.

5. Visibility

Sometimes, just to be in a particular locality and not pay high rent, doctors choose a clinic on a narrow street’s corner with almost no foot traffic. What they don’t realise is that better visibility helps you save a lot of money that you would otherwise have to spend on marketing.

Always try and find a location in a high foot traffic area like the main road of the locality that you are targeting. More the number of visitors to that area, more visibility for your clinic, low visibility would require more marketing expense. And if the patients can’t find your clinic, they will find some other doctor.

But opening a clinic in a mall would not be a good idea. Because people don’t just walk-in to any clinic to get treated like they go to a retail store to check out products and shop. Renting a space in a mall will be super expensive and the return on investment will not be that great.

6. Accessibility

If you are an Orthopaedic Surgeon and many of your patients have issues with mobility, you should not open a clinic on first floor or second floor or even in the basement of a building that doesn’t have an elevator. You can’t expect patients to climb up so many stairs for a consultation with you. Believe me you will be losing out on a lot of patients if you commit this blunder.

Patients should have good accessibility to your clinic even from the parking area. You can’t expect patients to walk hundreds of meters after spending lot of time trying to find a parking spot and then parking their vehicle. In Delhi, an average commuter spends about 80 hours each year to find parking space (Frost & Sullivan).

Most Indian cities have unmanaged and poor parking facilities. Make sure than that it is easier for your patients to get parking nearby. Otherwise, the patient might not visit your clinic again.

7. Your Own Research

Barring a few good real estate agents, most of them just want you to take the space they show you so that they can get the commission. They don’t care about the success or failure of your business.

Ideally you should talk to more than a couple of agents when looking for the location of your clinic. Even if it takes you more time to find the best space for your clinic, it will be worth it.

Your decision should not be influenced by what the real estate agent is telling you. You should verify all the information and find answers to the questions that usually agents would not tell you. For e.g. If you are opening a clinic in an area where already some clinics have shut shop, you need to find out the reason for it.

Conclusion

Choosing the wrong location for your clinic will turn out to be a very costly mistake. If you choose a wrong marketing strategy, you can change it easily. If you ordered wrong equipment, you could get it replaced or sell it for a lower price. But with real estate, you will be stuck there due to the lease and the investment you made to that property to design it as per your need.

Although you can minimise the impact the location has if you are a very good Doctor. But no matter how skilled you are, if patients are not willing to visit your location, you are doomed to fail.

Have you faced any of these issues in your practice? If yes, how did you overcome them. Do let me know. It will help a lot of doctors who are just starting out. Thanks for taking out time to read this article. Wishing you lots of happiness and success.