Drs Sing-Pey Chow and Michael Hogden's eyes on the prize

Ophthalmologists Drs Sing-Pey Chow and Michael Hogden have gone local with their patients, with the help of BOQ Specialist.

  3 minutes
  

Doctors Sing-Pey Chow and Michael Hogden were two Ophthalmologists working at a large, well established, specialist private practice in the Brisbane City, when the COVID pandemic hit. They noticed a slight shift in mindset among their patients.

“Lots of patients wanted to be cared for closer to their home and were not willing or able to travel into the clinic by public transport,” Dr Chow says.

“So we started thinking that perhaps we should start a smaller practice of our own within a local community so that people can receive their specialist eye care closer to where they live.” 

Finding the place

High on the list of must-haves were parking and good street frontage, so potential clients could find them easily.

“Patients often found driving into the city a hassle, and parking was always expensive and troublesome,” says Dr Chow.

“We identified a part of town in north west Brisbane called Everton Park, which was undergoing rejuvenation and also close to where we live.

“We looked at a few places for lease in the area, then one of the agents contacted us and suggested an ex-GP practice that was moving because they had outgrown their current space. It was located on a main road, had ample on-site parking and was a nice size for us.”

Taking a punt

To finance their start-up costs, Michael and Sing-Pey reached out to Colin Taylor from BOQ Specialist.

“We already had a relationship with BOQ Specialist through other banking activities,” Dr Chow explains.

They had first met Colin Taylor at an information night that BOQ Specialist put on at a local restaurant. “We found Colin very approachable and knowledgeable,” says Dr Chow.

“He knew his stuff back to front, yet no question was too simple. He really had such a good grasp of all the different steps required to start a private practice clinic from scratch, so we felt confident to go on this journey with him.”

Colin recalls starting a general conversation that night. “At the end of the night, I met them personally and had an initial conversation with them," Colin says.

“They were interested in the topic, and that led to us having a further meeting a few days later, during which we discussed starting a practice in more detail.”

The good place

Now Dr Hogden and Dr Chow manage their time between the Brisbane City practice and their suburban premises, as well as at their respective public hospital appointments.

It’s early in their practice journey—they opened in May this year, so have only been running a few months—but with the support of BOQ Specialist, both are optimistic about the future.

A tailored solution

“We're hoping to grow this practice into an eye clinic that the local community trusts and can easily access,” she explains.

“BOQ Specialist is really tailored towards medical professionals, and they understood our vision for the practice and the inherent risks that we were taking. We felt confident that they had the necessary experience to help us.”

Thinking about starting or growing your practice? Click on the link to find out more about our tailored financial solutions for setting up a practice. Or ready to take the next step? Contact us to find out how we can tailor a practice finance solution for you.