Opportunities for Entrepreneurs in the Healthcare Industry

If you’re a passionate entrepreneur looking to make a difference in the world, the healthcare industry could be an excellent place to start—and grow—your business because it offers many satisfying and financially viable opportunities.

Healthcare industry careers are ideal for people who are committed to helping others. 

And, demand for new healthcare-related businesses is significant, and increasing rapidly. According to an employment projection released in 2022 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the healthcare and social assistance sector is projected to create the most jobs between 2021 to 2031, growing along with the segment of Americans aged 65 and over, which is rapidly increasing.

By 2050, adults over the age of 65 will make up 20 percent of the U.S. population, according to a report from the University of Pittsburgh’s Stern Center for Evidence-Based Policy.

Furthermore, as a 2022 Commonwealth Fund study points out, nearly all U.S. adults over age 65 have some health and mental health coverage through their enrollment in Medicare, covering annual depression and substance use screenings, outpatient therapy, and counseling services, among other services.

Additionally, the Commonwealth Fund data showed that, compared to older adults in 11 other countries (including Canada, New Zealand, France, and the U.K.), older U.S. Medicare beneficiaries overall were most likely to be diagnosed with a mental health condition and to see a healthcare practitioner to manage their depression or anxiety.

Consequently, it’s likely not surprising that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has predicted employment in healthcare occupations will grow 13 percent—which is much faster than the average for all occupations—resulting in 2 million new healthcare jobs between 2021 to 2031.

Why Is Healthcare Primed for Entrepreneurship?

Challenges are threatening the stability of the current healthcare system. High inflation, a clinical staff shortage in part caused by increasing practitioner burnout levels  and COVID-19 pandemic fatigue and PTSD, and growing affordability pressures for end payers—including employers, consumers, and the government—are causing the cost of care to skyrocket and exacerbating health inequities. 

Entrepreneurs with an eye for innovation and new business models have an opportunity to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for all.

Also, now that smartphone apps, wearable devices for tracking physical activity, and other health metrics have become so popular, there’s a glut of health data being generated. 

Entrepreneurs who are skilled at data management and using data to suggest solutions can help improve the quality of care and move the industry’s focus from treatment to prevention.

Business Opportunities in Healthcare 

Below is a list of some of the most exciting business opportunities in the healthcare space. 

These all require capital, expertise, and management—and while that may sound daunting, if you’re eager to start your own healthcare business or private practice, there are resources available online to help you understand the training and components you will need and how to achieve them.. 

After all, the role of an entrepreneur is not necessarily to be fully aware of all of these fundamentals at the very beginning of your entrepreneurship journey. Rather, it’s to learn about the training and licensing you will need to reach your goal of starting a new business, and embark on the steps to achieve each of the milestones for creating a successful business or private practice. 

If you feel inspired to break ground in the healthcare industry, consider this list of business opportunities:

Private Practice

Many therapists, clinicians, and other helping specialists open a private practice—either solo or with a group. Private practice offers several advantages including: having complete authority over all decisions and aspects of the business and being able to set your own rates, which can lead to significantly more income. 

Opening a private practice requires a lot of additional, non-clinical responsibilities such as administrative duties like billing and organizing paperwork. So, even if you’re not a licensed healthcare professional offering services, you could consider partnering with someone who is and take charge of running the funding, operations, and management side of the business.

Wondering what kind of private practice to open? There are a variety of health-related private practices that currently have high demand. The following examples are some of the most popular: 

• Mental Health Counseling: Professionals in this type of private practice evaluate a patient’s mental health and use medication or therapeutic techniques to reduce symptoms and improve their quality of life. These professionals operate under a variety of job titles—therapist, counselor, psychologist, clinician, psychiatrist—depending on their training and their treatment setting.

• Physical Therapy: Clients who need a hands-on approach to restoring and optimizing movement and function after an injury, disease, or surgery often see a physical therapist. While PTs are often affiliated with a hospital or clinic, many of these professionals start their own private practice, particularly if they specialize in an unique area of expertise.

• Speech Therapy: Speech-language pathologists or SLPs, a.k.a. speech therapists, assess and treat communication problems and speech disorders in children and adults. While speech-language pathologists traditionally worked in school and hospital settings, many SLPs are reevaluating their current work setting and beginning to research different options—specifically the option of private practice.  

2. Health Insurance

As the cost of health insurance continues to rise, statistics show that basic healthcare remains out of reach for many people.  In 2021, 27 million Americans did not have health insurance, and millions more don’t have adequate coverage, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This could be a great opportunity for entrepreneurs who are interested in starting businesses that provide health insurance alternatives. 

For example, subscription-based healthcare is an alternate health insurance option that’s disrupting traditional private insurance and Medicare/Medicaid-type models. Rather than charging a fee for every visit, under this model, providers charge a recurring monthly fee to cover most primary care, dental, or wellness services without billing insurance.

3. Telemedicine Technology

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 37 percent of adults received clinical health care through telemedicine in 2021—meaning providers spoke to patients through a computer or telephone without the need for an in-person office visit. Telemedicine is a great space for entrepreneurs to invest in because there’s a huge need for the development of innovative remote patient monitoring technologies that aid providers in providing care to patients. These technologies include medical devices and sensors, mobile devices, cloud platforms to monitor and store data, and software to analyze the information to help telemedicine to be successful.

4. Home Health Service

Home health care businesses provide in-home care to patients who are aging, have chronic diseases or ongoing medical conditions, or need assistance after being discharged from the hospital. Home health service is becoming more popular than ever because it’s less expensive, more convenient, and just as effective as care received in a hospital or clinic. Plus, demand for new businesses in this area is growing as the population of people over 65 is increasing dramatically and there’s an increased incidence of diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. Some common types of home health care services include nursing care, physician-directed care, and physical and occupational therapy.

5. Medical Courier Service

Medical courier services play a crucial role in ensuring that hospitals, general practitioner practices, and care homes have everything needed to provide care to their patients. In addition to picking up and delivering medical supplies and equipment, medical-speciality couriers also transport medical samples and biological materials like blood or organs. Entrepreneurs who are detail-oriented and value precision could make huge strides in this particular sector because it requires them to understand and secure all the licensing, training, and knowledge required for proper handling and transport.

6. Health and Fitness Apps

The market for health and fitness apps may seem oversaturated but there’s still plenty of opportunities to attract users with new incentives and better user experiences. In fact, it’s estimated that 8 in 10 of consumers plan to improve their health through the use of apps on their smartphones and wearable devices. Business owners with app development skills or high interest in investing in new technologies would be well-positioned to be competitive in this sector, especially if they can pioneer ways to integrate health data into prevention and treatment plans. 

7. Accessible and Adaptive Technology

Here’s another opportunity for entrepreneurs who have skills or high-level interest in web and technological development. As more medical providers offer telehealth services, innovation in accessible design and adaptive technologies becomes even more crucial in ensuring equal access for all. Speech recognition, voice-powered websites, accessible keyboards, and screen readers are just a few of the technologies that help the 1 in 4 U.S. adults who have some sort of disability to obtain quality care. 

8. Cancer Research and Treatment Technology

There’s been tremendous progress in creating technologies that work to accelerate advances in the battle against cancer. From robotic arms that remove cancer through precise, minimally invasive surgery to using artificial intelligence to improve diagnosis and drug development, these ground-breaking innovations are dramatically changing the ways medical professionals find, visualize, understand, and treat this disease. This could be a strong business prospect for entrepreneurs who are passionate about improving people’s lives and playing a role in the fight against cancer.

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