How to start a Home Health Clinic

Why?  Why now?

In Googling variations on low-cost holistic clinics, several formats are visible.  The following seems stronger than others visible.

Many obstacles face a world where holistic practitioners provide the majority of health care services.  One hurdle is renting office space. The only way to open 20 self-healing clinics in LA in 2010 is to base them in people's homes and/or existing but unused office space after 6:00 pm.

Calendar frequency

Likely to begin as one evening a week. If quality services and a high frequency is created and sustained, hours likely to expand.

Format and money

At a home or unused office space after hours, a group of practitioners offer walk-in services and paid by-phone appointments, for $35 for 25 minute sessions. This means two sessions possible per hour.

$10 per client per 25 minutes goes to the house.  That’s $20 per hour per rental room. This money goes to hosting/secretary duties or to the organizer.  The smart organizer will trade competent secretarial support in trade for services; or, rotate this duty around to each prac in turn. 

$50 of each hour goes to the practitioner. $50/hour is the lowest rate pracs are willing to work for consistently and sustainably. 

As many appointments as possible scheduled by phone but walk-ins welcome to see if there is a slot.  Class or live chat room activity would also be good for people to check out the place and services. 

Details

Title – A bland name like “Health Clinic” is going to be better protection from those who wish to shut you down than “Healing Clinic.”  Low profile is what you want.

“Healing clinic” also has the historical baggage of “free healing clinics” which are unfair to practitioners who get nothing substantial in return for their service.

Competency of pracs

Each group will determine this organically.  See Bruce’s more complex proposals for clinic formats and Leap Day where criteria for practitioners is discussed more at length.  Briefly, “competency” will be determined by consensus by the venue host and all practitioners involved at the site. Each group will do this uniquely.  For best practices, see Bruce’s more in-depth doc on starting Leap Day clinics.

Better fewer pracs who get along than more pracs who do not.

No psychic readers or card readers--ever. This activity cheapens the whole field of holistic health and belongs back in the 1950s.

Parking has to be adequate or better.

Advertising discussion

Come in for your health!  See the longer docs for best practices on advertising.

Comments on this doc very much invited!

Bruce Dickson  ~  ToolsThatHeal.com  *  HealingCoach.org  *  SelfHealing101.net