Nurse practitioners don’t typically open a practice because they want to spend their nights on insurance verification, billing and documentation.
You do it because you want more time with patients and more control over how you deliver care.
Taylor Rose, a former hospital administrator at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and co-founder of Kinstead, has seen what happens when clinicians have autonomy. At CHOP, she witnessed patient care at its best. “The reason they’re able to create so many miracles is that clinicians take the lead, and it’s a real team environment. Everybody gets to be very involved in the work they’re doing there,” she says.
Rose and her co-founder, Parth Chodavadia, MD, have also seen the opposite. Working in other large health system settings, both have seen how medicine is practiced when the focus is on productivity and maxing out RVUs. “Staffing gets cut, ratios increase and clinicians burn out. Patients get health services, but they’re not getting health care,” says Rose.
Rose and Chodavadia kept these contrasts in mind as they formed Kinstead, a startup built to empower NPs to start and run their own private practices on their terms. Kinstead provides NPs starting practices with a launch pad, ongoing back office support and a community of clinician-owners. At the heart of their services is a practical truth for NP owners: It’s hard to deliver relationship-based care if operations consume most of your time and energy.
To build your practice strategically so you can deliver patient care the way you want, Rose and Chodavadia offer the following tips on how to spend more time working at the top of your license.
How Nurse Practitioners Can Lead Clinically and Strategically in Private Practice
Being a business owner isn’t instinctive, and it’s certainly not something clinicians learn in graduate school. If you’re like most private practice owners, you didn’t open your practice because you love business. You start a healthcare business because you’re passionate about patient care. The problem is that early-stage ownership requires an overwhelming number of small decisions: EHR, credentialing, scheduling, insurance verification, billing and dozens of other moving parts.
“There are so many little parts to building a practice that looking at it all together can feel like you have to climb a mountain,” says Rose
Instead, she recommends dividing tasks into systems and outsourcing what you can.
Tip 1: How Outsourcing Administrative Tasks Helps NP Practices Grow Faster
Rose recommends building a professional support network at the start of your business venture, made up of trusted partners who can run core functions without constant supervision, like Kinstead
While not every practice needs the same help, most do need billing support. “Billing is a real skill that can go wrong when clinicians try to do it alone,” says Rose. This can include delayed or reduced reimbursement and avoidable mistakes.
If you can outsource just one part of your practice, Rose and Chodavadia recommend starting by finding:
- A billing partner who can manage claim submission, denials and follow-up
- Front-end support for insurance verification and patient communication
- Support for any tasks that drain you
When these processes are handled consistently, your clinical day stops getting hijacked by small tasks that often turn into an hour.
Tip 2: How Community Support Helps Nurse Practitioners Build Successful Practices
The most successful NP owners don’t build a new practice in a vacuum. They rally personal community, such as family, friends and their local network for word-of-mouth marketing and even for shaping a practice that meets real needs.
Start by turning to groups like your faith community, schools, the YMCA, your neighborhood or local parent networks to get feedback on what’s missing in your community. Ask a simple prompt such as, “I’m starting a practice. What do you need from healthcare here?”
For example, the Kinstead team works with one NP who is building a practice that offers dyadic care. “She noticed many moms taking time off from work to go to multiple health visits, so she’s starting a practice that delivers care to parents and children at the same time,” says Chodavadia.
Considering your community as a partner from the start does two things at once:
- Helps you grow sustainably through trust-based referrals
- Keeps you focused on services patients actually want
Tip 3: Why Coaching and Peer Networks Are Essential for NP Practice Owners
Peer coaching can support you through tactics like marketing and administrative decisions –– as well as the emotional reality of practice ownership. ‘I advise everybody who’s thinking about starting a practice to get into that boat with other people,” says Rose.
In groups of other practice owners, someone has often dealt with your exact problem and can share what worked or what didn’t –– saving you time and money.
Chodavadia and Rose have also seen NPs regularly learn from one another clinically. One NP in the Kinstead network, who is building a psychiatric mental health practice, has learned about nutrition and integrative health from other providers in the practice. She plans to bring this complementary expertise to her patients.
“We find that the nurse practitioners who create a community around them as they’re building their practice are the ones who feel the most confident in practice ownership,” says Rose.
Tip 4: Should You Start Your Nurse Practitioner Practice Part-Time or Full-Time?
There are two ways to launch a new NP practice:
- Full-time, focusing 100% on your practice
- As a side hustle that eventually becomes full-time as you grow
In most cases, Chodavadia sees the slow and steady route works better because it gives providers time to build. “It’s not like you open your doors and then the next day you have a 500-patient panel,” he says.
When you outsource some of your administrative load and build on a sustainable schedule, you increase the likelihood of success.
Action Steps to Build a Sustainable and Profitable Nurse Practitioner Practice
- List what drains you: Write down the top non-clinical tasks stealing time each week (billing follow-ups, insurance calls, scheduling issues, portal messages, credentialing, etc.).
- Pick one function to outsource: If your business is new, billing support is the fastest way to save time and ensure you get paid.
- Build a list of potential vendors: Find partners you trust who can help with tasks like billing, administrative support and legal and compliance help.
- Protect clinical prep time. In addition to patient appointments, block protected time on your calendar for chart review and care planning.
- Join a community: You’ll gain practical tips and learn how to avoid others’ mistakes in a community of practice owners.
- Protect your business: Make sure you have the right professional liability coverage in place as your services and patient volume expand.
If you’re building or scaling an NP-led practice, CM&F can help you protect what you’re building with professional liability coverage designed for healthcare professionals and clinics. Explore coverage options and get started online.
If you’re exploring independent practice ownership and want a roadmap, you can find additional resources at KinsteadHealth.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I start a nurse practitioner private practice successfully? To start a successful nurse practitioner private practice, begin by building a strong operational foundation. Choose reliable vendors for billing, credentialing, scheduling, and insurance verification so you can focus on patient care. Many NP owners find that outsourcing administrative systems early reduces errors, increases reimbursement accuracy, and allows them to work at the top of their license.
- What is the best way to reduce administrative workload in a new medical practice? The most effective way to reduce administrative burden in a new healthcare practice is to outsource high-complexity tasks like medical billing, claims management, and front-office support. Delegating these responsibilities to experienced partners prevents revenue delays, minimizes compliance mistakes, and frees clinicians to prioritize patient outcomes and practice growth.
- Should nurse practitioners start a practice full time or as a side hustle? Many experts recommend launching an NP practice gradually as a side business before transitioning full time. Building slowly allows you to grow your patient panel, refine workflows, and establish sustainable revenue without overwhelming risk. This strategic approach often leads to stronger lon
