17th Feb 2008
Can I start my practice without an office?
Sure. I know of several people who started out of their homes or by going to people’s homes with a portable table. This is an excellent way to build a patient base before you commit to paying rent.
Here are some things to consider:
1. Working from Home. If you have a house you want to use as an office, you will need to check with the city where you live, to see what their zoning requirements are. They may have restrictions on how much of the home you can use, and parking restrictions. Many cities require you to poll the neighbors to see if someone objects, and then you must show up at a city council meeting to present your case. If no one objects, and you have met all the restrictions, you may be able to work from home. If you are in an apartment, you will also have to get permission from the landlord.
2. Traveling Office. If you want to work by going to people’s homes, all you need is a telephone and a portable table. This is a good way to get started in a small town, where you can build a patient base quickly. Be careful about going into homes of people you don’t know, especially in the city. You may want to schedule a brief first visit to talk to the family before you decide you want to continue going to this home. You may still need a license from the city, in addition to your chiropractic license, so check their requirements.
You never see MD’s, dentists, PT’s or any other health profession (besides massage) start out of their home. No we don’t want to be like any one of those professions, but if we want respect that we are a healing profession we should not be taking care of patient’s while our spouse is 10 feet away cooking breakfast. We should be telling the new grads to intern in a chiropractic office, work hard, learn, and save as much money as possible, then open a practice in an office setting.
Dr Murray, what about going to businesses and treating patients at the business? Can these treatments be billed on insurance in the state of California?