Three Common Challenges Healthcare Practice Owners Face (And How to Overcome Them)
Running a private healthcare practice brings unique rewards—the autonomy to provide patient-centered care, the ability to build meaningful relationships with your community, and the freedom to practice medicine on your terms. Yet practice ownership also presents distinct challenges that many healthcare entrepreneurs face. After years of working with medical providers and healthcare practice owners, we've identified three major obstacles that consistently emerge. More importantly, we've discovered practical solutions to help you navigate these challenges while maintaining your focus on exceptional patient care.
The Isolation of Healthcare Practice Ownership
Healthcare practice ownership can feel remarkably isolated. While your clinical colleagues understand patient care, they may not grasp the complexities of running a business. When you're facing difficult decisions about staffing, insurance negotiations, or practice growth at 3 AM, well-meaning advice like "Why don't you just join a hospital system?" misses the point entirely.
The Challenge: Most healthcare professionals work within larger systems and don't understand the unique pressures of private practice ownership. This creates a gap between you and your professional network, leaving you feeling alone in navigating both clinical excellence and business success.
The Solution: Build a strategic support network. For every one person who questions your decision to own a practice, surround yourself with at least five people who understand and support your vision for independent healthcare delivery.
Action Steps:
Connect with local medical practice management associations
Join healthcare entrepreneur groups on professional platforms
Seek out practice owner mastermind programs
Attend healthcare business conferences alongside clinical education events
Make building your business support network as important as continuing medical education
Your path as a practice owner is valid, whether you're building a concierge practice, expanding a multi-specialty group, or creating innovative care delivery models. Each approach serves patients and communities in meaningful ways.
Avoiding Burnout While Building Your Practice
The second major challenge facing healthcare practice owners is the mental and emotional exhaustion that comes from trying to excel as both clinician and business owner. The healthcare industry often perpetuates a culture where working excessive hours is worn as a badge of honor.
The Challenge: Operating from a place of constant urgency creates a mindset that equates your worth as a provider with endless availability. This leads to burnout and strains both your clinical performance and business decision-making.
The Solution: Create clear boundaries between your role as a clinician and your role as a practice owner. You are not your practice, and your practice is not you. Both aspects of your professional life deserve focused attention at appropriate times.
Action Steps:
Establish specific hours for administrative and business tasks separate from patient care
Identify your core values as both a provider and business owner
Create commitments that honor those values (e.g., no business calls during patient care hours)
Design your practice operations around the life you want to live
Implement systems that allow you to focus on high-value clinical and business activities
Quality patient care actually improves when you maintain proper boundaries, invest in practice management systems, and create sustainable workflows. Your patients benefit when you're operating at your best, not when you're exhausted.
The Resistance to Delegating and Accepting Support
The third challenge hits particularly close to home for healthcare providers: the reluctance to delegate or accept help with business operations. Many physicians and healthcare professionals have been trained to be self-reliant problem-solvers, which can become a limitation in business ownership.
The Challenge: Healthcare providers often believe that maintaining control over every aspect of their practice ensures quality care. This leads to trying to manage everything from clinical protocols to billing systems, which limits growth and creates unnecessary stress.
The Solution: Recognize that successful practice owners consistently rely on skilled teams, practice management experts, and healthcare business advisors. Delegating operational tasks doesn't compromise your clinical standards—it enhances your ability to focus on what you do best.
Action Steps:
Identify your clinical strengths and focus your direct patient care there
Evaluate which administrative tasks drain your energy and explore delegation options
Invest in practice management staff or consultants who understand healthcare operations
Connect with other practice owners who can share systems and strategies
Consider healthcare-specific coaching or consulting services
If you're handling everything from patient care to insurance credentialing to marketing, your practice likely isn't growing as efficiently as it could. Successful practices have robust support systems that allow providers to focus on excellent patient outcomes.
Moving Forward: Clinical Excellence Through Strategic Practice Management
True practice autonomy doesn't mean handling every aspect of your business personally—it means making strategic decisions about patient care while building systems that support your clinical mission. Your medical expertise and commitment to patient care are needed in our healthcare system, and creating a sustainable practice model ensures you can continue serving your community long-term.
About Our Work
At Tracy Cherpeski International, we're on a mission to empower 1,000 independent healthcare practice owners to achieve extraordinary success without sacrificing well-being. We combine expert business consulting with executive leadership coaching to help overworked, exhausted provider-owners optimize their time, energy, and leadership capabilities. Our clients become high-impact, fulfilled CEOs while maintaining their expertise in clinical specialties. Through our unique dual approach, we help practice owners decrease chaos and overwhelm in their businesses, enabling them to step back from daily operations and focus on their great work. Our clients typically see a 10X return on their coaching investment within 12-18 months, proving that sustainable growth and personal well-being can coexist in healthcare practice ownership.
Key Takeaways for Healthcare Practice Owners:
Professional isolation is common but not inevitable—actively build networks with fellow practice owners
Sustainable practice growth requires boundaries between clinical and business responsibilities
Delegating operational tasks enhances rather than diminishes your ability to provide excellent care
Maintain a growth mindset: stay open to new practice management solutions and industry innovations
The Path Forward
Running a private healthcare practice doesn't have to mean sacrificing your well-being or clinical excellence for business success. By addressing these three common challenges, you can build not just a thriving practice, but a sustainable model that serves both your professional fulfillment and your patients' needs.
The healthcare industry needs dedicated providers who are willing to take ownership of innovative care delivery. Your success as a practice owner contributes to a stronger, more diverse healthcare system that benefits everyone.
Start connecting with fellow healthcare practice owners who understand your unique challenges and begin building the right professional community is essential for both your clinical success and business growth.
Do you have sufficient support? At Tracy Cherpeski International and Thriving Practice Community, we're committed to supporting independent healthcare practice owners in achieving extraordinary success without sacrificing well-being. Whether through educational resources like this blog, community support, or personalized guidance, we're here to help you on your journey to a more balanced, fulfilling career in healthcare practice ownership. Let’s talk! Click here to schedule your complimentary practice assessment strategy session.
About the Author
Residing in the City of Oaks, Miranda Dorta is a creative storyteller and operations guru. Miranda graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in 2020 with a B.F.A in Writing and concentrations in Creative Writing and Fashion Journalism. Miranda has a skilled history working in public relations, publishing, retail management, operations, and social strategy.
At Tracy Cherpeski International, Miranda joined the company as an Administrative Assistant in 2021 and now is currently serving as the Manager of Operations and PR as of November of 2022. Miranda has developed a strong expertise in managing the operational aspects while effectively handling public relations and communication strategies.