If you are a healthcare entrepreneur who is planning to establish a hospital, you will agree that it is no small task. The road ahead is lined with obstacles and pitfalls and dangerous hairpin bends. You must drive along this path carefully to reach your destination. This is because a hospital is not like any other business, it has complexities that can be unnerving and challenging. There are many key aspects that you should plan even before a single brick of the foundation is laid down.

1. Site decision

Location is the mantra to success as your patients will make their hospital selection decision based on the accessibility and the convenience of your hospital site.  Your site should be well-connected by public transport, ideally it should be in a central location. You will have to consider parameters like your budget, your specialty, your plans for expansion, the desired size of your unit, the expected footfall and your future goals before zeroing in on a site. You will also have to ensure that utilities like electricity, waste disposal, water etc. are readily available at your chosen site.

E.g., If you are thinking of starting a multi-specialty hospital, you will have to get a site where multiple floors and sprawling units can be easily constructed. You will also have to make provision for adequate parking.

2. Fund Planning

Establishing a hospital involves enormous costs. You may need capital other than self-funding.  You will have to plan on how to organize capital through bank loans or private investments at reasonable rates of interest. To get investors interested in your project, you will have to make a sturdy and thoughtful business plan and project your numbers to the potential investors.

3. Licensing

A healthcare organization needs a plethora of approvals and allowances that have to be sanctioned by local governing bodies or regulatory organizations. Piles of documents have to be collated and submitted and protocols have to be in place before your hospital is awarded these You will have to plan for getting these in place before opening your doors.

4. Equipment planning

No hospital can be complete without an array of sophisticated medical equipment necessary for monitoring, diagnosis, treatment and management. You will have to plan for the procurement, the space allotment, the electrical connections, the quality control assessment, the maintenance of these complicated machines and also plan for the training of your workforce on how to operate these without any hitches and errors.

5. Architecture and design planning

Hospitals are busy, hectic, chaotic workplaces. Here utmost care has to be given to the comfort of the patients and also to the wellbeing and convenience of the workforce. You will have to plan for layout and design planning of your hospital to optimize space and functionality. You will have to work hard to create healing spaces where your patients recover speedily and happily by combining aesthetics like colour, décor and style with science like the use of ultraviolet lights to dispel infections and bio phobic material for construction.

6. Marketing planning

In healthcare, where there is a lot of competition, you cannot afford to just be excellent, you have to be the best and project that you are the best too. Your hospital’s reputation and identity can be built with good promotional and marketing strategies. You will have to plan on how you will curate your brand’s corporate equity and magnify your visibility as this will make your institution stand out among the crowd of competitors.

Thus, before starting a hospital, a myriad of planning has to be carried out and a multitude of issues have to be addressed. If you need any help in any aspect of planning, consult Hospertz, one of the leading healthcare consultancy firms of India. We have rich experience in the sphere of hospital planning and can help you at every step of this exciting journey.

Blog has been written by Dr. Vishal Jadhav, a veteran in the field of hospital consultancy with a rich experience of more than 20 years and founder of the Healthcare Consultany Firm, Hospertz.

Dr. Vishal Jadhav, Director

hospertz@gmail.com
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