Top Legal Considerations for Running a Successful Medical Practice

Julie Starr • August 8, 2024

If done correctly, running a medical practice can be one of the most worthwhile business options you ever make. It’s exceptionally rewarding to deliver healthcare to those who need it. These benefits on the emotional side of things, though, can only be achieved when you have taken care of more grounded specifics, and these start with the need to keep on top of legal considerations. Getting those in place will ensure a business that runs smoothly and a practice that can deliver for its patients and staff alike.


Understanding patient privacy laws

There is maybe no information about a person that is more starkly private than their medical data. People can choose to share it with whoever they wish to, but a medical practice has to be fundamentally conscious of patient privacy, especially as it pertains to HIPAA. HIPAA breaches can expose a practice to fines of up to $50,000 per breach, so make sure that your staff are trained in a fully up-to-date way on their responsibilities in this regard. It’s not only a financial and legal consideration; it is something you morally owe to every patient you see.


Medical malpractice and legal liability

According to the American Medical Association, 34% of all working doctors have been sued at least once in their careers, with about half of that number having faced multiple suits. This doesn’t mean that one in three doctors are doing a poor job - not all of these suits have been successful, obviously. However, healthcare is an emotive field and people may bring suits for any number of reasons. 


Your practice must ensure that it is fully covered with medical malpractice insurance to ensure that it is capable of dealing with any suits, and all professionals must be aware of their legal duties pertaining to patients and each other. Regular training in this regard is essential, and goes from the top to the bottom of the business.


Employment law and contract negotiation

There are two different kinds of contract your practice will likely enter into: contracts with staff and with vendors or service providers. On the first point, it is important to make sure you are on the right side of employment law: paying fair wages, complying with anti-discrimination law, and record-keeping. On the second, it is essential to have a contract lawyer look over any agreement you enter into with, for example, cleaning staff or pharmacy managers if these are not internally employed. 


Failure to achieve a fair contract can lead to the other contractor withdrawing from their obligations under that contract, which can in turn negatively influence your ability to deliver a service. Keeping on top of this is something you’ll need to do before you consider what your practice can do for its patients.



Sustainability

An aspect to include in the foundational components of building your medical practice is business sustainability. One resource is The Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC) which represents a technical consortium of medical product company manufacturers, waste collectors and recycling companies working to enable recycling of select packaging waste materials within hospital and medical facilities. Founded in 2011, the objective of HPRC is to enable packaging reduction and increased recycling of select product packaging waste streams within hospital and medical facilities.


Healthcare is a complicated, challenging field, and while you may be fully focused on delivering the best outcomes for your patient, it is important to remember that your legal obligations are not a distraction from doing that, but a framework upon which it can be built.

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.