An increasing number of members of the workforce are looking for ways to become their own bosses. Cue the entrance of coworking spaces. While these rented spaces are becoming incredibly widespread for digital nomads and office workers all over, medical professionals need more than access to a printer and a desk.
To meet the growing demand, medical office coworking spaces are popping up. This allows medical professionals to rent medical office space hourly, daily, or even monthly. They get to work alongside other medical professionals. Most of these spaces are either family practice or hospital-owned and are usually catered towards either specialists or general practitioners. Medical office coworking space is the perfect choice for doctors who only need space for a couple of hours per week or month. This allows them to spend considerably less on office space and even benefit from the use of medical equipment, nurses, receptionists, and more.
What about the Stark Law?
The Stark Law is a set of regulations prohibiting physician self-referral. It requires healthcare providers and referring offices to have a property lease of a minimum of one year. Referring offices must provide physicians with reasonable and necessary space in which they can practice and offer a rental rate that is consistent with fair market value. This means that medical office coworking space must be leased at a fair market value unless they want to risk heavy fines.
How do you determine a fair market value for a medical office coworking space?
Previously, medical practitioners had the better end of the deal when it came to part-time leases. The Stark Law was put into place to ensure that both the group leasing space and the medical practitioners renting it paid a fair amount. There are several different ways to determine a fair market value for a coworking space. Most medical coworking spaces include the use of offices as well as the use of medical supplies, equipment, and furniture. However, some also offer additional services such as medical personnel and office staff. The fair market value for space will take these things into consideration.
There is no one correct way to determine a fair market value for a medical office coworking space. Some people analyze comparable leases in the area and price their space accordingly. Some renters even choose to price in ranges. It wouldn’t be surprising to find space for rent anywhere between $50 to $175 for a half day and between $175 to $300 for a full day. Requesting the services of office and medical personnel could easily double this price.
Another popular way to determine fair market value is to take into account the price of the furniture, fixtures, equipment, and staff as well as the fair market rent for space. This is then divided down to the hour.
Some groups offering co-working space even determine the fair market value of space per square foot. They then multiply it by the size of the space and add a premium to cover everything else.
Part-time medical practitioners often find that renting medical practice space by the month takes a serious toll on their overhead. Medical office coworking spaces are therefore becoming more and more appealing. They certainly aren’t the best choice for every medical professional, but they are certainly worth considering. That being said, be sure to look for one that offers a fair market rate!
