The healthcare industry is booming and full of business opportunities. If you are looking for future business ideas for healthcare, you should know you don’t need to own a hospital or manufacture pharmaceuticals to make money in the healthcare industry.
One of the reasons why healthcare is hot is due to the steady demand. People will always get sick.
America is also getting older. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, all baby boomers will be older than 65 by 2030. One in every five Americans will be retirement age. It will mark the first time in history the number of older Americans will surpass the number of younger Americans aged 18.
A healthcare business is an incredibly rewarding business idea — one in which you can earn money while making a difference in people’s lives.
Here are some of the most prominent business ideas for healthcare right now.
1. Mobile Healthcare
Mobile healthcare is an innovative model of healthcare delivery. It is essentially a doctor’s office on wheels. This business model provides mobile medical testing and simple procedures such as eyesight or hearing tests, blood sugar or cholesterol screenings, flu shots, and other preventative tests. Some vehicles are tailored to a specific medical purpose — whether that be focused on blood donations, mammography, or dental.
The business opportunity around mobile healthcare is its ability to travel to people who are unable to easily access a doctor due to geography or time. The patient-to-primary care physician ratio in rural areas is only 39.8 physicians per 100,000 people, compared to 53.3 physicians per 100,000 in urban areas. About 12.4 percent of the population in the United States currently struggles to see a doctor. That’s approximately 40.7 million people who could be reached using a mobile model of medical service.
2. Medical Equipment Sales
Millions of dollars of medical equipment and supplies are sold each year. Medical professionals of all types need specific supplies to do their jobs. Most medical supplies are either bought or, in some cases, rented, from companies that specialize in a certain type of equipment. It is very possible for independent medical supply companies that find their niche to be successful. There are a couple of ways to approach this industry. One is to establish a retail or online store that sells medical equipment to customers. The other approach is to represent various manufacturers of medical equipment as an independent sales consultant who sells to hospitals and medical centers.
If you are looking to start a future business in the healthcare industry, a medical supply company is an option to consider.
3. Retail Pharmacy
The $312.1 billion pharmacy and drug store industry is expected to increase an annualized 1.6 percent over the next five years to 2020. The expanding elderly population will contribute to the growth, as this consumer bracket generally requires medication to address chronic ailments, resulting in steady revenue streams.
Retail pharmacy includes facilities that dispense over-the-counter medications and prescription drugs and also includes operations that deliver prescriptions to patients at discharge, as well as mail-order pharmacy services.
For savvy entrepreneurs, a retail pharmacy can be the perfect way to make money while still helping members of the community.
4. Urgent Care
The number of urgent care clinics jumped 19 percent in recent years, according to the Urgent Care Association (UCA). They suggest 89 million patients visit urgent care clinics each year, or more than 29 percent of all primary care visits in the country, and nearly 15 percent of all outpatient physician visits.
This supports the shift in reliance and loyalty away from primary care, which has been declining for the last decade. Frustrations with wait times and the need to sometimes wait months for an appointment are factors here.
More patients are turning to urgent care centers like American Family Care, which also provides primary care. In fact, AFC recorded a 60 percent increase in patients visits in the same time period between 2019 and 2020.
Many urgent care centers are considered affordable and accessible and provide x-rays, lab work, and prescriptions all in one visit under one roof. This is a big driver for consumers.
For more information on the trending urgent care industry or to take the first step toward owning your own urgent care franchise, fill out our contact form.
