IV Hydration FAQs...

IV hydration is a straightforward business model to set up.  The opportunity to generate income quickly is definitely here.  The major risk is competing with multiple other IV Hydration businesses that offer the same exact service that you do.  You must have a value proposition or a niche that you specialize in if you are not the only game in town.  There is also the risk that there will be copycat clinics that pop up when they see how well you are doing.  Again the best defense against those businesses are to have a solid base of relationships, strategic parternships, and several things that you are best in class for.

In most states a corporate practice of medicine (CPOM) law exists which states a physician cannot be directly hired.  The workaround has been for physicians to create a professional corporation (PC), which you can then contract with for physician services based on your agreed upon price.  Our medical director friends at Doctors4Providers.com have created solutions for this issue that they can help with.  D4P is not part of NursePreneurs and we do not control their prices or receive any compensation from them.  If you have questions about medical directors, we encourage you to connect with D4P on their website.

In most states a corporate practice of medicine (CPOM) law exists which states a physician cannot be directly hired.   States that do NOT have a CPOM law and allow direct hire of a physician are:

AL, AK, DE, FL, HI, ID, ME, MS, MO, NE, NH, NM, OK, UT, VT, VA, WY

Nurse Practitioners are not held to the CPOM law and can be employed directly.  This may be helpful in states where NPs practice independently.  An NP could potentially be hired instead of a medical director in CPOM states where NPs have full practice authority.  This would avoid the extra expense of setting up a PC.

States where CPOM exists that NPs could potentially be hired directly to be the medical director include:

MA, CT, RI, NY, MD, DC, IA, MN, ND, SD, KS, AZ, CO, MT, NV, OR, WA

States where CPOM exists and NPs cannot serve as the medical director independently are: 

NJ, PA, NC, SC, GA, WV, KY, TN, OH, IN, MI, WI, IL, AR, LA, TX, CA (California will have FP in 2023)

Some cities have multiple IV Hydration businesses such as Las Vegas, NYC, Miami and LA, but even in these areas there is still a significant amount of room for niche specific clinics.  For example, you could specialize in peri-pregnancy hyper-emesis or high dose vitamin C drips for oncology patients or migraine relief working with neurologists.  You could work just with body builders or wedding planners.  If you can find a section of the industry where you can help out with your IV treatments, you will be better off.  No oncology patient is going to go to an IV Hydration clinic called the Hangover or Party Lounge, so use that marketing to your advantage to speak directly to whom you want to work with.  In cities where there is no competition, you can stay general, but we encourage you to have at least one specialty that you work with.

In addition to the cost of the training we offer, your start up costs will include, purchasing supplies, marketing costs and a medical director.  You will also need professional liability insurance and general business insurance.  You will need to set up a legal entity and have a lawyer review documents and contracts that you need.  You will also need to set up some sort of patient tracking system or EMR.  EMRs can be relatively low cost around $20-50/mo.  However all said and done, you should have access to $5-10k in cash and/or credit to cover your starting costs.

Yes, you must have a medical director for this type of business.  If you are an MD or an NP with independent practice in your state you may serve as your own medical director.  Everyone else will need to hire a medical director.  As part of our program you will be introduced to our medical director partners who will work with nurses in all 50 states.  The matchmaking process is free, but the investment for the medical diretor starts at $750/month.  The medical directors we work with have experience in running IV Hydration clinics or something similar.  They will serve as an ongoing mentor for your business and can help you with details of operating your business.  Our medical directors are also beginning to offer telemedicine consults for states where patients must be seen prior to treatment.

This is a state specific question.  Some states have no rules or guidelines around this question such as TN.  Whereas some states require the IV Hydration business register as a Professional Corporation, which denies any one who doesn’t meet this requirement the opportunity to start this business.  Our thought on this issue is to consider partnering with a medical director and offer to run the business as an equity partner or partner with an IV Hydration nurse and add this to your already existing business (if you have one) in a partnership from and not a co-owner.

We have compiled a list of questions for you based on what nurses have asked us.  You can ask our helper bot on this page (thanks Nina!) or watch our free webinar..