Once, the strategic and operational pillars that inform the financial feasibility and business plan have been developed, it is helpful to shift focus to change management. Whether opening the doors to a new clinic or relocating an existing operation the culmination of the transition process calls for a structured, transparent, and patient-centred approach. This section provides suggestions, guides and templates that may be helpful to clinic owners as they round out their business and operational plans.
Practice Opening Checklist
Launching a new practice is an exciting undertaking, with many elements competing for attention, making working through the steps feel overwhelming. The Doctors of BC’s Opening a Practice Checklist helps outline essential elements to keep in mind. Although this is not an exhaustive list, this checklist can serve as a template that can be built upon to help track actions throughout the process.
Contingency and Emergency Planning
Medical clinic environments are dynamic, and unforeseen obstacles such as staffing shortages, technology disruptions, and emergencies can create confusion and chaos. Contingency and emergency planning before issues surface can provide valuable structure during unexpected events. WorkSafeBC also requires that all businesses in British Columbia have an emergency plan.
Contingency plan objectives:
- Identifying patients, and other parties who need to be notified during an adverse event
- Creating a plan to help avoid confusion during a crisis by documenting, testing, and reviewing response and recovery procedures
- Identifying essential services to your business and ensuring timely retrieval of critical records
- Ensuring you and your business are prepared for the unexpected
To get started with contingency planning, consider the events that may affect the clinic. Make a list of specific adverse events that pose a threat to your clinic such as fire, flood, power outage, facility damage, medical emergencies, extreme weather, prolonged absence, and others. Consider creating a business continuity plan and outline the actions that should be taken to recover critical elements of your practice (such as medical records), ensure provider and patient wellness, and protect/replace essential clinic infrastructure.
Doctors of BC’s Contingency Planning Toolkit outlines valuable resources for developing the different elements of a contingency plan including:
- Assembling emergency kits
- Confirming adequate insurance coverage
- Documenting office procedures and assigning key roles and responsibilities
- Creating contact lists and a communication plan
- Identifying essential services
- Completing a critical record inventory
- Implementing and regularly reviewing plans
- Solidifying your personal contingency plans and estate
Other useful tools for creating contingency, emergency, and continuity plans:
- Doctors of BCs medical emergency plan can guide actions for situations where a patient or staff member is noted to be unstable.
- Victoria Division of Family Practice has developed a Practice Continuity Workbook that can guide clinic owners create their own continuity plan.
- The article “Review of Emergency Preparedness in the Office Setting”, published in Canadian Family Physician Journal in 2019, discusses how best to prepare based on your practice and patient demographic characteristics.
By embedding these processes into the final stages of business development, prospective owners can ensure a more structured approach not only to opening their practice but also for response to unanticipated issues.