5 CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING YOUR OFFICE SPACE

Are you trying to figure out where the ideal location is for your new office? Often, there are so many competing priorities that you need to consider when looking for that perfect medical office space involves can be overwhelming. This really big decision affects everything from your daily commute to your patient base. And you’ll probably be locked into that location for a number of years depending on whether you rent (and the lease agreement) or buy.

Choosing a location and space solely based on cost can cripple your practice in the long run. You need to take the following criteria into consideration when trying to decide your practice’s location.

Catch Area 

You will want to evaluate the population size in the area you are considering. Theoretically, the greater the population, the more potential patients there are. But that relationship is not as straightforward as it seems. You need to consider your specialty and the demographics of the people living in what you think your catch area is. For example, if you are a pediatrician you aren’t going to want to have an office next to the largest senior community in the state. Similarly, if you are a subspecialist who treats rare illnesses then you can anticipate that patients will need to travel further to get to you. In that case, choosing an office that has easy access to the freeway, free parking and is easy-in, easy-out can improve patient satisfaction.

Demographics

One of the decisions you will make is whether you’ll accept insurance or have a cash practice. If you decide to take insurance, will you be in-network or out-of-network. The demographics of the location you are considering will have a direct impact on the outcome of these decisions. One of the demographic features that you’ll want to consider is the average patient age. If you want to minimize the percent of patients with Medicare, you’ll want to look for an area with a lower percentage of seniors.  

Another aspect to factor in is income level and percent employment. An area with a high rate of low-income residents will likely have more Medicaid or uninsured patients. This could result in lower reimbursements, as Medicaid typically pays a fraction of what the private insurers pay. And, depending on your fee structure, a low income area may have a difficult time supporting a DPC or Concierge practice.

Competition

You will want to understand how many physicians are located with your catch area in order to assess your competition. While you may think that a community filled with older, established practices may be difficult to compete with, this is not always the case. The answer is that it depends on the practice. Sure, older practices usually have longer term relationships with their patients. But they may also have more limited availability for new patient appointments or may be relatively complacent.

Younger competitors can be dangerous because they may also have excess availability and may be putting significant effort into marketing. You will want to understand both of ends of the spectrum when evaluating the competition from within your own specialty.

I do want to point out, however, that having physicians in other specialties nearby, particularly if they are synergistic to yours. For example, if you are a pain management physician and there is an orthopedic group that doesn’t have a pain specialist in an office across the street, this location could potentially be very beneficial. You want to scope out opportunities to create referral networks that can, in turn, help you to grow your practice in the new location.

Visibility

A highly visible location can pay you dividends. Signage that is visible from a busy street essentially markets for you. When you are looking at the cost of renting or buying, understand the money you may save by choosing a less visible location will likely have to go to more intense marketing efforts.

Choosing a space in a medical office building may not appear as an ideally visible location. However, if you can snag an office near the main entrance or near the elevator, you may gain the visibility you are looking for while being able to take advantage of the potential referral networks that the building offers. One caveat—you will want to make sure that you have adequate signage including being listed by name and specialty in the building directory at the entrance.

Aesthetics

First impressions count. You don’t need to be in the fanciest space or location. But you will want the building to have “curb appeal.” It should be clean and well-kept. Unless you are somewhere like New York City, you will want to make sure that there is adequate parking including handicapped spots. Depending on your specialty, this is particularly important. Think through how easy it is to access the building and ultimately your office.  

Obviously, the interior of your medical office space should be warm and inviting. But this is not your house and you don’t need to spend a fortune on interior decorating. The key is that the space needs to be designed for efficiency. You need to understand your workflow in order to evaluate whether the layout will maximize your practice’s productivity.

Distance

On the subject of productivity, you are going to want to consider the distance and traffic patterns from your office to your home. You will also want to consider these same factors in relation to any other sites you go to. For example, do you have to go to the hospital to operate or make rounds? Do you do procedures in an ambulatory surgery center? Time spent commuting from one place to another is non-revenue producing. You will want to consider how easy it is to get from your new location to the other places you have to routinely go in order to maximize your productivity.

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