As the popularity of telehealth grows exponentially, many physicians are learning how to start a virtual clinic. Telemedicine is reshaping modern healthcare, offering a low-risk, high-reward entry point for medical professionals like anesthesiologists, registered dietitians, and therapists who want to build their practices without the tremendous financial burden required to launch traditional brick-and-mortar clinics. 

Think of telehealth as the lean version of starting a private practice. There are no waiting rooms to lease or pricey portable imaging equipment to finance. Physicians now have a low-risk approach to test the waters of entrepreneurship, offering them a level of freedom and flexibility that was previously unheard of. This article will provide a step-by-step guide on how to start a successful virtual clinic. 

How to start a virtual clinic

The adoption of telehealth options has skyrocketed since 2020. The Cisco Customer Experience Report on healthcare showed that 75% of patients are comfortable using technology to interact with their physicians instead of seeing them in person. 

The shift toward telehealth means clinicians who specialize in niches like chronic illness nutrition management or spinal leak care can now reach patients worldwide while working from home. 

You don't need a physical location to start offering telehealth services. Bootstrapping a virtual clinic lets you test your business model, refine your niche, and reinvest profits into scaling up your practice—whether that's hiring staff, upgrading the technology you use, or eventually opening a brick-and-mortar practice. 

Launching a private practice has historically required six-figure loans, years of planning, or an MBA in business jargon, but starting a virtual clinic allows you to start small, stay flexible, and grow on your terms. 

Why start a virtual clinic?

Virtual clinics aren't just a pandemic-era fad: They're a financial lifeline for healthcare professionals who are tired of insurance reimbursement battles and burnout. Bootstrapping a virtual care clinic beats the traditional model of jumping straight into launching a brick-and-mortar practice and accumulating lots of debt. It also allows you to focus more on your patients, providing them with the care they need without the constraints of insurance policies. 

1. Low overhead costs and high flexibility: You don't have to worry about renting an office space, paying utility bills, or managing janitorial staff when you start a virtual clinic. Your main startup costs are a reliable Wi-Fi connection and HIPAA-compliant software. 
2. Niche domination: Offering virtual care allows you to specialize without dealing with geographic limits. 
3. Business-to-Business (B2B) Opportunities: Physicians who run virtual clinics can partner with businesses in a non-clinical role, such as advising for community education programs and medical device startups. For example, anesthesiologists can help improve needle designs for epidural blood patches for spinal leak care. 
4. Patient-centric pricing: Transitioning to virtual care allows physicians to use cash-based models and charge based on the value of their expertise. 

Transparency is the foundation for building a successful telehealth practice. Share your credentials, showcase your knowledge, publish case studies, and highlight measurable outcomes. 

Starting a telehealth practice

Ready to learn how to start a thriving virtual private clinic? Let's get started:

Step 1: Define your niche and services 

The success of your virtual clinic starts with one question: What unique and in-demand services can you offer patients? Offering generic "online doctor" services sets your practice up to drown in a sea of competition. However, a hyper-specific niche—like spinal leak rehabilitation for persistent post-dural puncture headache (pPDPH) patients—attracts people willing to pay premium rates for services.  

Some of the steps you should take to identify your niche include: 

• Audit your expertise: What conditions or populations are you passionate about? For example, you could be a dietician passionate about helping people with spinal leaks heal by providing dietary advice to prevent iron and Vitamin B deficiencies—deficiencies that slow down the healing process and impact blood quality for the clotting ability of the blood when forming a patch. 
• Spot market gaps: Use tools like Google Suggest to identify underserved markets, such as spinal leak care, which is currently estimated to be worth over $1 trillion in the United States alone. 
• Survey your audience: Poll former patients to find out what their biggest struggles are.

Your Homework: Draft a one-sentence niche statement. Example: "I want to help [specific patient group] achieve [specific outcome] using [your unique method]." Keep refining it until you have a narrow niche.

Step 2: Create a lean telemedicine business plan

Your business plan is your practice's GPS, providing a clear map to avoid getting lost in the administrative woods. Some things to keep in mind when creating a business plan include:

1. Define your minimum viable practice (MVP)

Start your business plan by reviewing the basics and asking yourself what services you'd have to offer to make your business viable. For example, anesthesiologists can offer virtual consultations to spinal leak patients and provide follow-up care bundles. Dietitians can offer 30-minute nutrition strategy sessions and personalized lab review packages. Therapists can address medical trauma that often persists even in cases where spinal leak care was provided promptly due to the horrific symptoms experienced due to spinal leaks and the fight to be heard by medical staff. Research has shown that there are long-term physical and psychological impacts of having PDPH.

2. Budget like a pro

Break down your startup costs into "must-haves" and "nice-to-haves." For example: 

• Musts: HIPAA-compliant video platform ($50 to $300/month), malpractice insurance ($100 to $500/month) if you live in a state that requires this, scheduling software ($30 to $100/month), a website ($20 to $100/month), and search engine optimization (SEO) services ($300 to $6000/month), and legal consultation on retainer. 
• Nice-to-haves: Custom electronic health records (EHR) integrations, paid ads, social media marketing, branding, and malpractice insurance if you live in a state where this is not a legal requirement but still a strong recommendation or requirement by B2B service providers. 

3. Forecast revenue streams

Add some B2B opportunities to the clinical services you plan to offer. Ideally, you want these business opportunities to make up 30% of your earnings. Physicians can typically charge higher fees when working with other businesses. 

4. Plan for pitfalls

Have some backup system in place to keep your virtual clinic running. For example:

• Have a backup hotspot so you can reconnect with patients if your Wi-Fi stops working in the middle of a consultation. 
• Start a waitlist and raise your rates if the demand for your services outpaces your capabilities. 

Consider any possible scenarios that can interfere with your ability to provide the services you offer and devise contingency plans. 

Grab Our Template: Download our Virtual Clinic Business Plan Blueprint to skip the guesswork. Remember: A business plan is a living document—tweak it regularly.

Step 3: Navigate legal and compliance requirements

Skipping compliance is like performing a surgical procedure without gloves. It's risky, messy, and definitely illegal. 

Here's a no-jargon survival guide that will let you navigate the legal and compliance requirements you must meet to start a virtual clinic. 

1. Licensing

State regulations governing telehealth vary. Generally speaking, you'll need to be licensed in a state to consult patients there. Many physicians invest in maintaining multiple state licenses at once despite the renewal costs for a competitive edge. Be strategic about which states you choose for licensing, such as a state with a care desert in your niche service. 

Platforms like Teladoc Health Credentials can streamline multi-state licensing. Some states, like Florida, offer special telehealth licenses for out-of-state providers. 

2. HIPAA compliance

The technological tools you use to interact with patients—emails, video calls, etc.—must encrypt data. 

• Use HIPAA-compliant video conferencing platforms like Doxy.me or Zoom for healthcare to meet regulatory requirements.
• Sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with your vendors. 
• Train your staff on phishing scams. The World Economic Forum states that 95% of cybersecurity breaches start with human error. 

3. Insurance and liability

Get adequate coverage to ensure your practice is protected against potential lawsuits. 

• Malpractice insurance: Ensure your policy covers telehealth since some don't.
• Cyber liability insurance: This helps deal with any fallout from compromised patient data.

4. Billing rules

• Post cash prices upfront to avoid disputes and show a commitment to transparency.
• Verify coverage codes (e.g., CPT 99453 for remote monitoring) when billing patients through their insurance providers. 

5. Hire a telehealth-savvy attorney 

Hire an attorney with lots of experience working with telehealth providers on retainer to help spot red flags faster than a nurse spots a faulty IV drip. 

Research shows that many physicians are not familiar with their legal duties in care. This can lead to physicians entering legal trouble, which creates liability issues and prevents offices from creating excellent patient experiences and earning more revenue. 

For example, many front-desk personnel may respond negatively out of fear and lack of training in response to an out-of-network patient with private insurance offering to pay cash for a physician who accepts several insurance plans. Having a healthcare attorney on retainer can give you the peace of mind to run everything by them and ensure you optimize every opportunity.    

Your attorney will also ensure you’re meeting your legal obligations concerning patient notes. Many cash-based physicians are under the misconception that notes are only for insurance purposes when they are a legal requirement. Notes are owned by the patient–not you–in some states and are sometimes used to assess your listening skills and check for potential bias. 

Physicians often state that they were taught to document what they see. Thus, they may inappropriately over-focus on the patient’s appearance and demeanor in their notes rather than empathetically address medical concerns and the care plan. Remember that obviously biased notes often end up shared on social media and can be a PR nightmare if clinicians gravely misstep.    

Step 4: Choose the right technology stack

Your tech stack is the foundation of your virtual practice. The main systems you need to run a telehealth clinic include:

1. Telehealth platform

2. EHR systems

Some of your options for EHR systems include:

• Chronic Care: CharmHealth integrates remote monitoring.
• Specialists: AthenaHealth offers robust referral tracking.

3. Patient onboarding tools:

Some of the popular onboarding tools doctors who run virtual clinics use include:

• IntakeQ: Customizable forms and auto-reminders.
• Luma Health: SMS surveys used to prep patients before visits.

4. Remote monitoring gear:

You'll need to purchase appropriate equipment if you plan to offer services like remote monitoring. 

• Blood Pressure: Validated Bluetooth cuffs.
• Glucose Tracking: Apps like MySugr (FDA-cleared).

Test-drive free trials before committing to a remote monitoring platform. Avoid systems that feel clunky.

Mistakes to avoid include:

• Overpaying for features you don't need: You're not running a large clinic (yet).
• Ignoring patient experience: If Grandpa can't log in, some of your patients will run into the same problem. 
• Buying tools but not using them: If you're going to buy HIPAA-compliant software, don't leave it in the closet. Set up your patient portal; utilize it to streamline care and post patient notes. 

Step 5: Build your virtual clinic team

The team members you hire to help run your virtual clinic should be skilled and laser-focused on the mission you've laid out. Start with these essential roles. 

1. The virtual assistant (VA)

Your virtual assistant can help with various administrative tasks, such as scheduling, email triage, and sending reminders. Freelance websites like Belay can connect you with a healthcare-savvy VA for $15 to $30 per hour. 

2. The billing expert

Outsource insurance billing tasks to freelancers or agencies like CloudRCM so you don't have to spend a large portion of your workday chasing reimbursements. Look for someone familiar with your specialty's billing codes. 

3. The tech whisperer 

Hire on-demand IT help to handle EHR glitches, cybersecurity updates, or data breaches. Sites like Support.com offer on-demand IT services. 

4. The clinical sidekick

Partner with other healthcare professionals like nurse practitioners or dietitians to help with patient consults through platforms like SteadyMD. 

Bootstrapping hack: When starting a virtual clinic, prioritize independent contractors or B2B teams over full-time hires. This will save you on benefits, office space, and awkward team-building exercises. Use tools like Slack to keep everyone synced.

Some of the red flags to avoid when building your practice include:

• Over-hiring too soon: Start solo and gradually add new roles as your clinic's revenue grows. 
• Ignoring cultural fits: Anyone you hire should be aligned with the values you want your clinic to represent, especially a commitment to accessibility and a quality patient experience. 

Tip: Offer performance bonuses (e.g., a $100 bonus for every 5-star review attributed to a team member). A happy team equals happy patients.

Step 6: Develop your patient acquisition strategy

Create a clear plan on how to acquire patients. Some ways to market your virtual clinic include: 

1. Master SEO

Hire an SEO agency to help you find keywords that will drive patients to your practice. Your SEO specialist will target keywords potential patients are likely to search for, like "spinal leak specialist near me" or "5 signs your headache is caused by a spinal leak," to increase your clinic's visibility.

2. Leverage social proof

Get consent from patients to publish their success stories and use them as social proof of the value you provide. A section of your website should be dedicated to sharing patient experiences. 

You should also encourage patients to leave reviews about their experience with your practice on sites like Google Reviews. Do not fall into purchasing positive reviews or removing poor ones. Respond professionally and constructively to any potential negative reviews. Patients are often more likely to believe that you have a 4.2/5 on Google Maps with 20 reviews than a 5/5 with 200 reviews.

3. Partner up with influencers

Collaborate with health coaches, podcasters, or local gyms to attract new patients to your website. For example, a dietician could guest-star on a podcast on how nutrition impacts chronic illness management and offer free meal plans to listeners, driving them to their practice. 

During this process, keep in touch with your healthcare attorney on retainer to avoid legal trouble, such as anything resembling referral kickbacks. Any partnership should be an opportunity to share information about health conditions and your approach to addressing them rather than a partnership where patients are referred, and some financial incentive could be present.

4. Run hyper-targeted ads

Run targeted ads to attract potential clients. Bid on long-tail keywords like "best virtual clinic for spinal leaks" and start small. Regularly evaluate your patient acquisition cost (PAC) and compare it to your estimated earnings per patient to ensure your paid advertising campaigns don't become a financial burden. 

5. Host free webinars

Use webinars to demonstrate your expertise and build email lists. Patients are more likely to seek your services when they're confident you can provide effective care.  

Common pitfalls

Blunders to avoid when building your patient acquisition strategy include:

• Ignoring local SEO: Even virtual clinics benefit from claiming Google My Business listings.
• Skipping video content: TikTok videos and short Reels on topics such as "3 Red Flags Your Radiologist Doesn't Know Anything About Treating Spinal Leaks" go viral quickly. So do videos of your cute pet assisting with consultations. 

Step 7: Set up financial systems for sustainability

Cash flow keeps your clinic alive, but 44% of startups mismanage their revenue. Simple steps you can take to avoid that include:

1. Pick a payment model

• Cash-Based: Charge upfront via platforms like IvyPay (RD-friendly) or Square (for MDs). Take advantage of opportunities like PayPal's "Pay Later" option to make high-ticket services accessible. Patients pay you upfront, while PayPal handles the installments.
• Insurance: Use tools like Alma to verify coverage pre-visit.
• Hybrid: Offer sliding scales for low-income patients (tax-deductible!).

2. Price appropriately

• Research competitors: Look up the going rate for the services you offer and add 20% to that figure if you offer niche expertise. Studies show patients don't mind paying more for a higher quality of care with greater accessibility. 
• Bundle services: Develop creative ways to save patients money if they commit to multiple visits. 

3. Track expenses religiously

• Use apps like QuickBooks Self-Employed to auto-categorize costs. 
• Keep records of all your investments when launching telehealth services since they're all tax deductible. 

4. Plan for taxes

Set aside about 30% of your clinic's income in a separate account so Uncle Sam gets his cut to keep things running smoothly. 

A virtual clinic built your way is your prescription for a more fulfilling career

Bootstrapping a virtual clinic requires making wise choices and avoiding shortcuts. Define your niche, leverage cash-based business models, and scale sustainably. The blueprint is clear regardless of your specialty: Start small, provide value, and grow on your terms. 

Contact us today to book a one-on-one strategy session to learn more about how to start a virtual clinic. Your future clinic is a Zoom call away.