The Changing Orthopedic Landscape
How the Changing Orthopedic Landscape is Creating New Healthcare Business Opportunities
By: Christine Dura
In today’s market, there are ample healthcare business opportunities, but one specialty in particular is gaining popularity, and for good cause. Orthopedic care is a constantly evolving field, and delivering this care has changed dramatically over the years. This is resulting in new opportunities that previously didn’t exist.
Instant healthcare has seen a significant increase in demand over the past decade. Those in search of immediate medical care, but who don’t want to pay outrageous fees for going to the emergency room, are turning to urgent care centers. According to the Urgent Care Association of America, there are nearly 7,100 urgent care centers across the country and this number is growing every day. The increase in market demand for urgent care opens the possibilities for new healthcare business opportunities. Urgent care centers serve those with simple medical needs such as colds, minor injuries, or primary care requests. But what if a patient needs more specialized care without the red tape and cost of first going to a primary care and then on to a specialist?
Franchises like OrthoNOW® offer healthcare business opportunities outside the norm that serve an increasing demand for specialized care. OrthoNOW® is a network of specialized urgent care centers focused on treating the full range of orthopedic and sports medicine injuries on a walk-in basis. These injuries include anything related to the foot, ankle, knee, hip, wrist, hand, elbow, shoulder and spine, in addition to pre-concussion testing. Businesses like OrthoNOW® are filling a need that is becoming prevalent due to a shift from Business to Business (B2B) healthcare to Business to Consumer healthcare. Patients are always searching for ways to get quality medical care at an affordable price and urgent care centers and specialty centers like OrthoNOW are answering the call.
In an article from the American Journal of Orthopedics, the changing landscape of healthcare, specifically orthopedics is addressed. “Meeting increasingly higher demands for musculoskeletal care in an evolving medical landscape will bring a new set of challenges that will be more frequent and more intense than those in the past. Today, we are tasked with providing fiscally efficient, culturally competent, high-quality, evidence-based, and compassionate care,” the article notes.
Due to regulation and an increase in cost, many orthopedic doctors are merging into larger multi-physician practices or selling off independent practices and joining a hospital network. Another option that provides alternative healthcare business opportunities is to open an urgent care practice like OrthNOW®. Franchises like this can provide additional support that may be too time-consuming or costly when it comes to owning an independent orthopedic practice. In addition, healthcare franchises like this come with built-in marketing, licensing and permitting, and billing assistance.
Patients are looking for quality and value. With the rise in healthcare costs, patients are less concerned with the accolades or awards that a physician has and more concerned with the cost and quality of the care they receive. This unique dichotomy presents new healthcare business opportunities throughout the market that urgent care centers and franchises like OrthNOW® can serve. People will always need medical care, though the way they seek and receive it changes just as quickly as our cultural and medical landscapes.
OrthoNOW is the first and only Orthopedic franchise. Contact Christine Dura at Christine@orthonowcare.com for more information about franchise opportunities.
Christine has over 25 years of quantifiable executive management and franchise related leadership experience within the US and internationally with notable franchise startups in the service, technology, retail, food, health and wellness, financial service, medical care, technology and professional services. As a Senior Franchise Executive and Entrepreneur, Ms. Dura has been both an individual contributor and has successfully led world-class teams.
Ms. Dura excels at partnering with all core business operations to significantly increase the company’s foot print, expand market share, and generate sustainable revenue and EBIT gains. Her proven successes, combined with her Master Degree in Training and Development, have shaped Ms. Dura’s uncanny ability to identify opportunities, build mutually rewarding partnerships and produce remarkable results.
In addition, as a four-time Master and Unit Franchise Owner, Ms. Dura is in a very unique position to leverage her experiences and reputation at all levels in franchising along with her vast personal and professional investor network to drive immediate and long term results. As OrthoNOW’s Chief Development Officer her role is to identify critical gaps in franchise growth and implement strategies to drive results. Her unique background allows her to leverage past experiences and solid reputation to spearhead OrthoNOW’s national expansion plans.