Q:

I have my own practice into which another doctor, who practices 4 blocks away &  who's 
lease is up wants to move into. She doesn't want to sign another multi year lease and
her intentions are to leave this practice within a short period of time to focus on her new 
home office, 40 min. away. I am curious as to the different options available to me in 
working out this deal, i.e., rent/no rent, purchasing patients/ rent money going towards 
purchase price, time concerns, etc. I would be happy to call you if you want to
e-mail me a number. Thank you inadvance for your help- I really could
use it.

A:

Thanks for the e-mail .. I guess you can ask her to sign an Independent Contractor 
agreement .. she will pay you monthly rent .. say $500 a month or so .. and 40% of what 
she collects. In this way .. it will give her the incentive to make her stay short and for sure 
provide some income for you. The important point is to have a contract drawn up .. (I have 
a recent contract I can fax to you .. just retype it and add her name .. it was one some other 
DC sent me for review .. there were some questionable items but overall looked good) .. 
have a lawyer endorse it .. have fix ideas in terms of how you can assure you get the % that 
she owes you. For the rent and % .. you must supply all equipment and staff .. except her 
private phone line and marketing. Be sure hours and any decisions concerning walk or call 
in (new patients) are decided in advance .. whos patient is who. 

If she wishes to sell her practice patient list .. she must be able to assure you that these 
patients are active. Inactive lists are hard to reactivate making it vapor .. therefore you 
usually pay for nothing. To assure this .. she can offer you a 3-4 month period where these 
patients will be adjusted (by her) in your facility and then you can decide (especially when 
she decides to leave) if you wish to inherit these folks and how much it is worth .. 
obviously by then you'll know how active and valuable her patient base is. Also remember 
she really has little options .. she'll either just leave the patients and move on (they would 
have already been used to coming to your office) or try to sell th patient base with probably 
little success .. therfore you will have the upper hand so to speak. 

Good Luck .. my phone number is 770-491-3639 .. best to call on Tue/Thurs afternoons 
from 3-6 or in the mornings the other days

Have a Great Day

Dr. M