If you’re looking for a new business opportunity, the healthcare sector has plenty to offer. People often say this industry is one of the few that is relatively immune to economic shifts.

After all, when consumers need to adjust their spending habits, they might cut down on how often they dine out or start making coffee at home rather than getting it in the local cafe. But, people will always need help managing chronic conditions, aging safely, and remaining as healthy as possible, regardless of how the economy performs.

Here are some worthwhile options to pursue as you explore healthcare business opportunities.

1. Home Care

Since the Australian government prioritized home care in its overhaul of options for older adults, there has been a substantial rise in the number of such providers in the country. These entities provide packages tailored to meet a client’s individual needs. The care received could include assistance with the tasks of daily living, physiotherapy, podiatry, and more.

Statistics indicate there will be 275,000 home-care packages in Australia by 2023. In 2015, there were only 60,000. However, the overall growth has gradually slowed over the years while the demand for these services has remained high.

If you decide to go into this field, it will be necessary to meet regulatory requirements. Additionally, you’ll need to be aware of an ongoing staffing shortage. In 2021, Australia's government allocated $6.5 billion to fund an additional 80,000 home-care packages to meet demand. Those will gradually become available through mid-2023.

However, staffing shortages have caused a delay in providing those services, so you’ll need to think carefully about how to conquer that challenge. In any case, it’s easy to see that Australian society needs providers. Even if you don’t begin a new home-care business from the ground up, consider reviewing the market for opportunities to buy an existing brand.

2. Medical Centers

Once a patient gets established with a provider at a medical center, they may stay with that facility for the rest of their lives or at least as long as they live in the area.

Many patients often appreciate the convenience of getting several needs met in the same medical center, too. Suppose a person can see a general practitioner (GP) and a mental health professional in one complex. Then, they save the time and trouble of looking for providers in multiple locations.

There’s also ample budgetary flexibility for medical-center business opportunities. You might pay approximately $300,000 for a small office suite. However, what you pay could go into the tens of millions for a large and frequently utilized piece of real estate.

Medical center tenants often stay in the complex for the long term, eager to offer the stability patients want. Conversely, if one does leave, it could take longer than expected to replace them due to the highly specialized nature of the industry.

The ongoing high demand for GPs also creates healthcare business opportunities at medical centers. A recent report for the Australian market showed there were an average of seven GP-type service visits per person. Additionally, it showed that more than a third of people who needed urgent GP appointments in 2020 waited more than 24 hours to get them.

Together, these factors make it appealing for new general practitioners to move into available medical center space and for those who already occupy it to stay there and keep serving patients. They also indicate there’s an ongoing need for the services provided at medical centers.

Viewing a medical center as an investment opportunity in the healthcare sector also lets you support public health. Research increasingly confirms the connection between individual health and the well-being of whole communities.

3. Point-of-Care Testing

Estimates suggest lab tests influence more than 70% of medical management decisions. Point-of-care testing, also known as near-patient testing, is particularly advantageous for everyone involved. It involves test administration during the consultation and rapid results.

Before point-of-care testing became more widely adopted in Australia, the general process was to book the patient a second appointment at a pathology lab, where the test occurred. After that, the person would wait several days to hear their results.

However, not all patients end up going to those pathology appointments. Perhaps they can’t get time off work or find it too much of a hassle to go to another location. One study of point-of-care testing found the approach caused up to a 61% reduction in patient follow-up visits.

Since some point-of-care tests give results in only a few minutes, the goal is to get patients started on the right course of treatment almost immediately, preventing the need to come back for a second appointment.

Research published in 2020 also noted a significant increase in the usage of point-of-care tests in Australian primary-care facilities over the past decade. It found that these options are particularly useful in rural and remote areas of Australia. That’s partially because those places are farther away from pathology labs and also because residents of those areas are at higher risks of morbidity and mortality from diseases compared to people living in cities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also elevated the need for point-of-care testing. The increased availability of test result distribution through smartphone apps is yet another aspect that should keep the market healthy for the foreseeable future.

4. Dietary Support

Most people know that eating well is a vital part of staying healthy. However, doing it is easier said than done, and that’s largely due to the varied and often-conflicting advice people find for themselves. Are all fats bad and to be avoided at all costs? Is a low-carb diet worth considering? Unfortunately, there are no easy answers because the ideal way to eat varies on things such as a person’s activity level and age.

However, many individuals eventually get to the point where they know they want to change their diet but don’t know how. Maybe they want to lose a bit of weight or perhaps they find themselves snacking too much between meals. These circumstances represent some of the many situations that have caused dietary support endeavors to be among the healthcare business opportunities worth exploring.

The Dieticians Australia 2020-2021 annual report highlights some of the areas of growth. For example, that organization had a 6% increase in its number of members. It also fielded more than 100 questions per day from its members and the public.

Opportunities also exist to support people in adhering to certain kinds of diets. The ketogenic, or keto, food market should see a 5.52% compound annual growth rate from 2022 to 2027, a market research report found. It also indicated that the Asia-Pacific region would experience the fastest growth.

Will You Find Your Next Business Opportunity in the Healthcare Sector?

These four business types are among those to strongly consider exploring in more depth soon due to the potential they offer. However, you should also stay abreast of other emerging trends, making yourself well-positioned to turn one of them into a profitable business.