Opening a clinic
How to open a clinic, city by city
Opening a private clinic takes six steps in every city, from the licence and the premises to insurance, hiring, patient-facing setup and the first 90 days. Each city page walks through them against the official rules, and shows how wai runs the clinic from its first day.
Updated . 16 cities, each checked against its official sources.
Choose your city
- DubaiDubai Health Authority (DHA)
- Abu DhabiDepartment of Health Abu Dhabi (DOH)
- RiyadhSaudi Ministry of Health, through the Seha platform
- DohaMinistry of Public Health, Health Facilities Department
- LondonCare Quality Commission (CQC)
- New YorkNew York State Department of Health, with the State Education Department for physicians
- Los AngelesMedical Board of California, with CDPH for licensed clinics
- MiamiFlorida Board of Medicine, with AHCA for licensed clinics
- SingaporeMOH under the Healthcare Services Act, administered by HSA from 1 November 2026
- Hong KongDepartment of Health, Office for Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities
- SydneyNSW Health, for private health facilities
- ParisOrdre des médecins, with the ARS Île-de-France for authorised activities
- EdinburghHealthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)
- SharjahSharjah Health Authority (SHA)
- ChicagoIllinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, with IDPH for surgical centers
- HoustonTexas Medical Board, with HHSC for surgical centers
The six steps every opening walks through
The order is the same everywhere. The rules inside each step are the city's own.
- Licensing and the regulator. Which body licenses the facility, which registers each professional, and what an inspector checks before the doors open.
- Premises and fit-out. The building, its use and the fit-out standards a clinical space is held to.
- Indemnity and insurance. Professional indemnity for every clinician, and the insurance the facility itself carries.
- Hiring and credentialing. Registration, verification and the records a regulator expects for every person you hire.
- Patient-facing setup. Booking, prices, consent, complaints and how patients reach you in their own language.
- The first 90 days. The checks, audits and habits that keep a new clinic ready for its first inspection.
Questions
What is the first step in opening a clinic?
Find out which regulator licenses the facility and which body registers each professional, because the premises, the hiring and the opening date all follow from that licence. Each city page names both and links to the official source.
Do I need clinic software before I open?
Most regulators inspect the facility before or soon after it opens, and ask how records, consent and access are kept. Setting up booking, notes and records before the first patient means the systems an inspector asks about are already running.
Which cities does wai cover?
Each city with a page here, and more. wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules, and we set this up with you before go-live.
By specialty
Every specialty- Specialtywai for dermatology clinics
- Specialtywai for aesthetic clinics
- Specialtywai for fertility clinics
- Specialtywai for dental practices
- Specialtywai for physiotherapy practices
- Specialtywai for mental health practices
- Specialtywai for longevity and preventive medicine clinics
- Specialtywai for private GP practices
- Specialtywai for home visit doctors
The regulators
Request a demo for the clinic you are opening.
We show wai on your own diary, notes and inbox in a 15 minute video call, and set up hosting in your clinic's own country before go-live.