The healthcare sector is set to have a big decade with public health probably being front and center for many years to come. The sector was already coming from its biggest decade in history with healthcare spending reaching a whopping $3.6 trillion back in 2018. Then there’s the massive boost in demand we can expect from Baby Boomers who will need more care for a whole variety of health issues.
This is a great opportunity for any savvy entrepreneur to get into the business side of healthcare, especially those who already have a background and expertise. Let’s take a look at a few great healthcare business ideas to consider in 2021.
Medical Transcription Services
The job of medical transcriptionists is to take the words of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, and put them in written form in the patient’s records. Yes, speech recognition technology has indeed made things easier over the years, but there is still a need for human transcriptionists to review entries and make sure that they’re accurate.
There are tons of benefits to starting this type of business. For one, you can work completely from home and make your own schedule. Also, if you manage to find a way to transfer files and information fast, you’ll be able to one-up your competitors. It is also a business that you can start with relatively little capital.
Medical Research Management
Another thing you could do is start a business to help healthcare facilities manage their medical records better. You may decide to offer services to small clinics, healthcare facilities, or work with dentist offices. You could also work closely with clients and look at different records management systems, implement them, and work with their employees to help them use these systems better.
You can also take a different approach to the business and work as an outsourced service. In this case, clients will let you handle everything for them. This is often something sole practitioners or boutique services will look for as they may not have the means to hire in-house staff for that function.
Managed Healthcare IT
IT now plays a bigger role than ever in healthcare. Medical records are almost completely digital. Some functions are now performed completely remotely, such as case management, for instance. More of the work will be done remotely in the future as well. This means that managing teams will become difficult. But more importantly, it opens facilities up to cybersecurity threats. It is their responsibility to respect the integrity of their patients’ records and their privacy. Just one breach could be disastrous for an organization that will now have to face legal repercussions. Breaches can also be massive and affect hundreds or thousands of patients at once, which could mean the end for a practice.
This is why we can expect practices and facilities to spend more time and money on IT in the next few years. If you have a background in IT and would love to work in a booming field with great prospects in the future, providing specialized services for healthcare professionals and practices could be a great idea.
Healthcare Consultant
If you have expertise as a nurse or as an administrator, then you could work as a consultant. You have nurse consultants who will work with businesses with healthcare needs, or they may work with facilities that may be having managerial or structural issues. If you have experience in management or administration, you could work as a healthcare consultant and work closely with healthcare facilities and practices to improve their business at every level.
Also know that you can get the qualifications needed to work as a healthcare consultant while you’re working as a healthcare professional. This will make you more well-rounded and you’ll now have expertise both on the floor and the administrative side.
One option would be to get the degree online. Suffolk University’s online MBA degree health sector management concentration degree program would allow you to get the skills needed to help healthcare facilities deal with business challenges within their organization. You will have a very specific set of expertise that will allow you to stand apart in the field.
This is a great career option for those who’ve been in healthcare for a long time and feel like they could use their expertise somewhere else. It’s also a great option for those who want more autonomy and to be able to work their own hours.
Pharmaceutical Rep
This is another great business option for healthcare professionals, especially long-standing nurses. Pharmaceutical companies will often hire people with no experience in the field, but nurses are highly sought after in this field. This is because they have first-hand knowledge working with different medicine and they know their effects in and out – sometimes even more than some doctors.
Nurses that have significant experience will be aware of changes in medication. They will know how certain medication classes will work and how they are different from others. They will have expertise on the side effects of different medications and how patients react to them.
This is a great job for any nurse who wants to make money either full-time or as a part-time gig. This is usually commission work, which means that you can make your own schedule.
Starting Your Clinic
Starting a clinic is also a great option. If you have the capital needed, or you can raise it, this is a great time to start one. Demand for care will continue to increase, and, if you establish yourself in the right market, you will be able to serve populations that are in great need right now, such as rural communities, for example. Many people decide to open clinics in urban centers, but more would be wise to look at underserved areas with much demand. Not only could you enjoy steady business because of the lack of options, but you could get the chance to work in a less stressful environment.
You can decide to go at it alone or partner up with someone else. Getting a partner will allow you to split the costs on everything from the lease to equipment to administrative costs. This will also allow you to extend your scope of service.
Nursing Home
Another sector that will see a lot of demand in the next few years is nursing homes. Note that you don’t have to build a massive one. Some only have a few rooms but offer more personalized care. You may want to focus more on the living environment than the size of the facility. More clients and their families want something more intimate and this could be your chance to corner an underserved niche in the market.
Before you start, however, you will need to conduct market research. You need to look at the demographics wherever you are and in which direction things are trending. You also have to look at the competition in the area and see how you can differentiate yourself.
Some may want to cater to people dealing with chronic illnesses, while others may want to focus on social life. You will have to build a brand for your nursing home and make sure that you know who your core audience is. Nursing homes build on a sense of community, and you need to attract like-minded people to do that, which is why you need to stay on brand and not try to be everything to everybody.
Start a Nursing School
You may already know that the country is experiencing a massive nursing shortage at the moment. But what few people know is that this shortage is not primarily caused by a lack of applicants; instead, it is a lack of faculty. In fact, nursing schools all over the US have had trouble processing the number of applications over the last few years. It has reached a point where qualified nurses with years of experience are getting turned down.
This could be a great time to open your own nursing school. It is a significant project, but an achievable one. The first thing we would advise is that you look at other nurses and see if you could find one or a few that would be willing to partner up with you. This will help with initial staffing as you can teach the courses yourselves, but it will also allow you to keep costs manageable.
The first thing you will need is to find a facility. The best option here is usually to lease. You don’t have to go all out with the installations either. You have to make sure that they’re up to code, but you don’t need anything massive at the beginning. You’ll most likely only have a few students at first, so have enough space for them. Once you get more recognition and applications, know that you can also annex it or move to a larger facility.
You will then need to develop the curriculum. You will decide what will be taught and how, but it has to be approved by the postsecondary education authority in your area. Next, you will have to purchase or lease equipment such as IVs, mannequins, beds, etc. You will also need to invest in things like computers, office furniture, phones, and more to deal with the administrative side.
Once you have everything, you will need to seek accreditation. You will need accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission if you want your school and program to be recognized. You will also need to seek additional accreditation from a regional accrediting agency so that your school will be recognized for student loans and financial aid grants.
Healthcare Tech Startup
If you love technology and would love to spur innovation in the healthcare field, you could also start a healthcare tech startup. Here, the possibilities are endless. You could decide to create something entirely new, but you can also decide to improve on previous tools. Wearable technology is huge right now, and there is a space for people who can create wearable technologies that could make managing life signals better. Or, you could decide to build an app that will allow people to make better life decisions.
While this is not the easiest business to get into, it is one with massive potential. If you’re inventive and have a knack for problem-solving, this could be a great option for you. It’s also a great field to enter if you have experience in healthcare and know which problems professionals have to deal with regularly.
Diabetic Care Center
Diabetes is ravaging the US, and it’s estimated that around one in 10 Americans either have diabetes or are prediabetic. These numbers are set to grow in the next coming years and there will be more need for specialized care for people suffering from the condition. Diabetic care centers are there to deal with patients dealing with complications associated with the disease. They will also provide treatments such as dialysis, as well as help on prevention and dealing better with diabetes. Some will provide educational resources to patients or the community, such as informational classes and workshops.
Health and Fitness Center
Health centers are also set to grow in popularity over the next few years. The key here is specialization. While generalist centers will continue to exist, those who can identify specific niches and cater to them will be the ones who will be able to separate themselves. Some of the niches to consider are the elderly and those dealing with disabilities. Health centers that can incorporate things such as nutrition and healthcare resources will also be able to stand out, such as therapeutic massage and physical rehabilitation, for instance.
As you can see, there are tons of great business ideas for savvy entrepreneurs in healthcare. If you are up for the challenge and want to capitalize on one of the fastest-growing and important business sectors in the country and the world, look at these options further.