In the course of their careers, many doctors are faced with the question: Establish or take over a practice? Admission restrictions in metropolitan areas, which are intended to prevent medical oversupply, make it difficult to set up a new company. In 2019, 67% of all dental start-ups resulted in the takeover of an existing practice. Because anyone who wants to run their own practice and treat health insurance patients despite legal restrictions usually decides to take over the practice.
Why should you take over a practice?
But the ability to treat legally insured patients is not the only advantage of taking over the practice. After all, you not only get the “cash register”, but also technically equipped premises and a permanent patient base. You therefore skip the phase in which you first have to establish yourself and your practice and can create reliable sales forecasts from day one. Last but not least, existing practice staff also contribute to this.
Practice staff: their benefits and obligations
If you take over a practice, you benefit from an existing team that already knows the processes and patients inside out. In addition, the legislator regulates in Section 613a (1) of the German Civil Code that all personnel must be taken on “1:1” — and under the same conditions. Taking over a practice is not a reason for termination!
In addition, practice managers are required to inform the workforce in writing of the change of ownership. Specifically, this letter must include the following aspects:
- When the practice was taken over
- Reasons for the change of ownership
- Legal, economic and social consequences
- Planned measures involving personnel
Note: Staff have the option to file an appeal. In this case, however, the previous owner may give notice of termination for operational reasons (for example due to the transition to retirement).
Due to the shortage of skilled workers and the pandemic-related layoffs, there is a great demand for qualified practice staff on the labor market: MFAs and ZFAs are desperately sought after. Your future employees are therefore virtually included in the purchase price. But how much does a practice takeover actually cost?
Average costs of taking over a practice
Of course, personal practice is always also a financial issue. The costs of taking over a practice depend on various factors, such as your specialty, location, equipment and the size of the practice. Family doctors pay an average of around 169,300 euros. This already includes the costs of modernizing the practice, equipment and renovation measures.
That's what medical specialists pay
The investment amount of specialists is significantly higher. Gynecological practices of 300,000 euros, dental practices around 376,000 euros and orthopedic practices of 400,000 euros must pay the highest amounts for taking over the practice. On the other hand, taking over a physiotherapy practice is much cheaper: Financing requirements of around 35,000 to 65,000 euros are expected here. These differences can be explained by the technical equipment required.
Checklist: You should pay attention to this when taking over the practice!
Have you decided to take over a medical practice and would like to take the next steps? In this checklist, you will find an overview of the most important steps of your takeover project.
- Valuation: Have an independent reviewer professionally determine the value of your dream practice. This should be the basis for the purchase price.
- Counseling: Get advice from a specialized lawyer and/or tax advisor on your takeover plan.
- Business plan: The basis for a loan or government funding is usually a business plan in which you outline the development of practice for the coming years.
- Financial planning: For doctors wishing to take over, there are special forms of credit, institutes and government funding programs (start-up grant) to make it possible to finance the practice.
- Practice takeover agreement: Notarization is usually not necessary, unless you also purchase the premises. Sample letters for practice takeover agreements can be found at Lower Saxony Dental Association and with the Westphalia-Lippe Medical Association. Note: It may be worthwhile for you to draw up this contract or at least have it checked by a lawyer in order to protect yourself legally.
- Medical Association: You are required to submit the practice transfer agreement to your medical association.
- Insurance: Check which insurance you need for yourself and your practice. Professional liability insurance is necessary, for example.
- Practice contracts: There is no right to take over the existing rental agreement. This must be negotiated separately with the landlord. The same applies to telephone and Internet connections. Continuation is usually possible. However, this requires the consent of the contract partners. Note: Make sure to keep the existing telephone and fax numbers so that the patient base can still be reached!
- Handover plan: In order to proceed in a structured manner during the handover and not forget anything, you should draw up a detailed plan with the former practice owner as to when which steps are taken over until the practice is fully taken over.
- Patient file: Data protection and confidentiality require sensitive handling of the patient file. A Two-cabinet system has proven effective in practice. In case of doubt, consult medical lawyers.
- Staff information: It is also absolutely necessary to inform existing staff in writing that you have taken over the practice.
- Information for patients: Patients should also be informed in good time about the change of ownership. Through notices, newsletters or information on the website and personal conversations in practice, you can keep everyone up to date.
But there is a lot to consider not only before and during the takeover of the practice. You can also set the course in advance for efficient practice administration processes.
And after taking over the practice?
Even before taking over a medical practice, it is advisable to think about some basic aspects of the practice process and make decisions. This also includes how you would like to digitize your practice. Modern digital practice management systems as well as signature and billing tools such as Nelly enable you to easily manage important accounting processes. Digital solutions also save you and your team a lot of time every day — Nelly even 90 minutes a day!
Simple and modern billing with Nelly
With Nelly, you can easily bill private and self-paying services with just one click. This immediately relieves yourself and your employees and can instead focus on treating and caring for your patients. Wir advise you without obligation and free of charge to your individual case!
The personal names used in this article always refer equally to all persons. Dual naming and alternate names are omitted in order to improve readability.
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