A written plan for the day you step back, made years before that day arrives.
Transition Planning
Many doctors begin planning their departure only a few months before they intend to leave, which is roughly the point at which it has become too late to change anything that matters. A practice that still operates on paper charts, on procedures that exist only in the office manager’s memory, and on a front desk that only one person fully understands is harder to sell, harder to transfer to a successor, and harder to close without leaving patients stranded, and because each of those problems takes months to repair, the plan is most valuable when it is prepared early.
Three endings, and you choose
- Selling the practice. Although the transaction itself belongs to the licensed professionals you engage, we prepare the practice for it: records digitized and organized, documented procedures, accurate patient data, and a front office that runs on an ordinary day without you.
- Handing it on to an associate or successor. We plan the handover so that the systems, the procedures, and the patients’ trust stay with the practice rather than leaving with you.
- Closing the practice properly. We plan the patient letters, the transfer of records, and the directory listings that must be removed, and we list the regulations that govern your profession for your attorney to confirm; California, for example, requires a physician to keep patient records for at least seven years after the last visit, and an optometrist for at least seven years after treatment ends, and for a minor at least until age nineteen.
We do not value practices, find or negotiate with buyers, or give legal or tax advice, because those decisions belong to your attorney, your accountant, and the licensed professionals you engage. What we contribute is the operational preparation that makes each of their jobs easier, and since we are paid by the practice and by nobody else, our advice does not depend on which ending you choose.
What you get
- A written transition plan that names the ending you have chosen, the steps it requires, and the order in which to take them
- Patient records digitized, organized, and ready to transfer to a buyer, a successor, or a records custodian
- Documented procedures that allow the front office to operate on an ordinary day without you
- A timeline for patient letters, directory changes, and record transfers, for your attorney to confirm against the regulations that govern your profession
- A clear account of which decisions belong to your attorney and which to your accountant, so that no responsibility falls between them
- Advice from someone who is paid by the practice and nobody else, whatever ending you choose