What Operating Costs Outpatient Clinics Incur?

#	Operating Expense	Description	Min Amount ($X)	Max Amount ($Y)
1	First Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic	Monthly lease of clinical locations major fixed cost starting March 2026.	$60,000	$60,000
2	Second Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic	Low-dose CT capital for initial two units with planned expansion in 2027.	$1,800,000	$2,700,000
3	Third Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic	Radiology tech wages scale with FTEs; base 3 FTEs at $80k each.	$240,000	$400,000
4	Fourth Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic	IT platform MVP capex plus monthly hosting, PACS, and license costs.	$400,000	$520,000
5	Fifth Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic	Outsourced laboratory panels represent a variable COGS percentage of revenue.	$100,000	$300,000
6	Sixth Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic	Digital performance marketing spend and fixed retainers driving customer acquisition.	$150,000	$350,000
7	Seventh Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic	Utilities, insurance, processing fees, consumables, and one-time backup generator capex.	$192,000	$312,000
	Total		$2,942,000	$4,642,000

What Does It Cost To Run Outpatient Clinic Each Month?

Running an outpatient clinic costs are dominated by large fixed monthly bills, so you must plan cash and runway carefully. The biggest single outflow is the clinical lease at $60,000 per month, plus utilities and facilities at $10,000 monthly. Add IT hosting and PACS maintenance at $8,000 and marketing/brand retainers at $12,000; wages for core leadership and center staff are a significant additional payroll burden. For setup and financial planning see How to Write a Business Plan for an Outpatient Clinic?

Where Does Most Of Your Monthly Cash Go In Outpatient Clinic?

You're running an outpatient clinic; most monthly cash goes to the clinical lease and staffing-here's the quick split and what to watch. See How to Write a Business Plan for an Outpatient Clinic? for actions that align costs to revenue. The largest single outflow is the clinical location lease at $60,000 monthly, followed by payroll for radiology techs and center managers, marketing retainers plus performance spend, and CT unit financing; the model shows a Minimum Cash of -$1,751,000 in Jan-27.

How Can Outpatient Clinic Founder Reduce Operating Expenses?

You're scaling an outpatient clinic and need faster wins to cut monthly burn; here are proven levers that reduce outpatient clinic operating expenses and improve runway. Negotiate the clinical lease, shift imaging work to teleradiology, delay noncritical CT capex, optimize marketing CAC, and outsource labs to get volume discounts. Read more context in How to Write a Business Plan for an Outpatient Clinic?

What Costs Are Fixed, And What Costs Scale With Sales?

Direct answer: Fixed costs in the outpatient clinic are the clinical lease, IT hosting and maintenance, insurance, and marketing retainers; sales-linked costs are outsourced lab panels, payment processing fees, variable onsite staffing, consumables, and referral/affiliate fees - read operational KPIs 5 KPI & Metrics for Outpatient Clinic Success: What Should We Track? to tie costs to throughput. Fixed costs set your baseline monthly burn; scalable costs rise as patient volume and tests increase. Match staffing and outsourcing to appointment demand to control outpatient clinic operating expenses and CAC for outpatient clinics.

What Are The Most Common Operating Costs Founders Underestimate?

You're likely undercounting hidden outpatient clinic operating expenses-read on to avoid a cash surprise. Regulatory and compliance legal bills pile up beyond retainers, CT maintenance and downtime add recurring cost, and IT hosting and PACS storage grow with imaging volume. Recruitment, training, and rising insurance premiums also push healthcare clinic payroll expenses higher during ramp; see operational setup details at How Much Does It Cost to Start an Outpatient Clinic?.

What Are Outpatient Clinic Operating Expenses?

Operating Cost: First Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic

You're signing leases before revenue ramps, so clinical location lease at $60,000 monthly (starts March 2026) is the single biggest fixed cost and directly raises monthly burn and required initial capital.

Operating Cost: Second Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic

The CT scanner capex for an outpatient clinic-initially $1,800,000 for two low‑dose units with an additional $900,000 planned in 2027-is a large upfront and ongoing cash item because its purchase, financing, depreciation, and service contracts directly set monthly burn and the clinic's revenue ceiling.

Operating Cost: Third Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic

This category covers wages and payroll-related costs for radiology technologists and center clinical staff, which directly drive monthly cash burn and must match patient throughput to protect margins.

Operating Cost: Fourth Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic

The IT platform hosting and PACS expense for the outpatient clinic covers core software, storage, and uptime guarantees and matters because it consumes steady monthly cash and scales with imaging volume, affecting your ability to meet the 48-hour result guarantee.

Operating Cost: Fifth Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic

For the outpatient clinic, outsourced laboratory panels are a variable cost that starts at 10% in 2026 and matters because it directly reduces gross margin and scales with patient volume.

Operating Cost: Sixth Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic

Digital marketing for the outpatient clinic is the mix of fixed brand retainers and variable performance spend (customer acquisition cost) that directly drives monthly cash outflow and affects runway and breakeven.

Operating Cost: Seventh Operating Expense Outpatient Clinic

For the outpatient clinic this category covers building utilities, facility support, insurance, small transaction fees, consumables, and the one-time backup generator capex - it matters because these items create a steady monthly drain and a material upfront capital hit that both squeeze runway.