You have taken the first steps toward establishing yourself as a healthcare provider in your community. You have a website and you have a list of your contacts. Now comes the part of developing a list of guidelines to follow in how to set up your business, develop your brand and how to choose your technology partner. Here are some tips to get you started,

1. Know your strength
2. Define your scope of services
3. Choosing the right healthcare software partner

First, consider what your particular expertise will be as a healthcare provider. Next, consider the scope of services that you will offer your prospective patients. The third item on your list of guidelines to follow is to choose your technology partner. The following discussion will address each item in this order.

There are many reasons why a healthcare provider might choose their technology partner. Each healthcare organization has its own unique system for how to collect and report data, how to keep the information secure and managed and how to make the information easy for the people who collect it to use. The software you will choose must meet each of these requirements. As part of the process of choosing your technology partner, you will want to identify whether or not the vendor is HIPAA ready. A third party, HIPAA compliant software can help you to meet all your obligations to your patients.

A second point on your list of guidelines to follow is how to choose your technology partner. You may not have experience in your field, or your experience may not be in a position to provide the type of service a specific healthcare provider will provide. If you do not have experience in your field, you may want to consider working with an organizations in the healthcare field that has experience in the type of technology you wish to incorporate into your clinic. For example, a healthcare provider might want to work with an organization that specializes in electronic patient records.

The final point on your list of tips to start your new practice is to ask for recommendations. Ask your peers, experts, family and friends for references or referrals. Make sure you are comfortable asking for references before you discuss any type of agreement with potential vendors. Before you enter into any contract, be sure to plan on your budget or financial commitment for software or the solution that you are planning to obtain for your business. The cost of the solution or the software alone can run into thousands of dollars without getting any return on investment for few months. When you are just starting out in your new practice, it is especially important to get a feel for what your healthcare needs will be and what your hardware and software options will cost.