Attorney for Setting Up a Medical Practice in Florida
Starting a medical practice in Florida is an exciting but complex process that requires careful legal and regulatory planning. From entity formation and licensing to compliance and contractual agreements, every step must align with Florida healthcare laws and business regulations. Without proper legal guidance, physicians and healthcare providers may face unnecessary risks, delays, or costly compliance issues.
At Di Pietro Partners, our experienced healthcare attorneys assist physicians, medical groups, and healthcare businesses in establishing and structuring their practices.. Our legal team has experience in both healthcare law and business law, helping clients address the regulatory, contractual, and operational issues that can arise when starting or expanding a healthcare practice.
With a board-certified doctor on staff and a legal team well-versed in regulatory compliance, we understand the unique challenges faced by healthcare providers.
Healthcare Practice Formation and Structuring
Setting up a healthcare practice in Florida requires more than just medical expertise, it demands strategic legal planning to ensure compliance, efficiency, and long-term success. From choosing the right business structure to obtaining necessary licenses and drafting contracts, every step in the process must align with Florida’s healthcare laws and regulatory requirements.
At Di Pietro Partners, our experienced healthcare attorneys guide physicians, medical groups, and healthcare entrepreneurs through every phase of practice formation and structuring. Our attorneys help clients establish a strong legal and regulatory foundation while identifying potential risks and operational issues during the formation process.
What Should You Do Before Opening a Medical Practice in Florida?
Before opening a medical practice in Florida, physicians should address the legal and regulatory foundation of the business rather than waiting until the practice is already operating. Important considerations may include:
- Choosing the appropriate business entity and ownership structure
- Confirming the professional, facility, and healthcare-business licensing requirements that apply to the practice
- Determining whether AHCA licensure or an applicable exemption must be addressed
- Preparing physician, employee, ownership, vendor, and lease agreements
- Establishing policies for compliance, documentation, billing, privacy, and staff responsibilities
- Confirming that clinical and support staff are working within the scope permitted by their licenses or roles
- Reviewing malpractice insurance and other business-risk considerations
- Planning the practice structure with future growth, additional providers, or eventual expansion in mind
Addressing these issues at the beginning can help physicians avoid having to correct structural, licensing, contractual, or compliance problems after the practice is already operating.
Healthcare Business Formation
The lawyers at Di Pietro Partners are dedicated to helping physicians, medical providers, and businesses involved in the healthcare industry. This includes helping with the purchase or sale of a medical practice, setting up a new practice, healthcare contracts, medical licensing, legal compliance, litigation, and more. Depending on the ownership structure and services being provided, forming a healthcare business may also involve professional licensing, facility or business licensure, regulatory requirements, and other operational considerations.
We work with a range of healthcare professionals and businesses, including:
- Anesthesiologists
- Businesses involved in the healthcare sector
- Cardiologists/cardiovascular doctors
- Chiropractors
- General surgeons
- OBGYN Doctors/specialists
- Orthopedic surgeons
- Pain management specialists
- Plastic surgeons
- Private medical practices (including specialty groups)
Choosing the Right Business Structure
The legal structure of your practice impacts ownership, governance, liability, taxation, and regulatory compliance. The appropriate structure can depend on who owns the practice, the professional services being provided, and applicable licensing requirements. We assist clients in selecting and forming entities such as:
- Professional Associations (PAs) – Florida permits licensed professionals, including physicians, to organize professional corporations for the purpose of providing professional services.
- Professional Limited Liability Companies (PLLCs) – Florida permits qualifying licensed professionals to organize professional limited liability companies, subject to applicable ownership and professional-service requirements.
- Corporations and Limited Liability Companies – Depending on the ownership structure and nature of the healthcare business, other corporate or LLC structures may also be considered.
- Partnerships – Partnership structures may be appropriate in some circumstances when multiple physicians or healthcare owners are operating a business together.
Entity selection can also affect tax treatment, ownership rights, management responsibilities, and future transactions. Our attorneys help clients evaluate the legal structure that best fits the practice while coordinating with tax and accounting professionals when appropriate.
Who Can Own a Medical Practice in Florida?
Ownership of a Florida medical practice depends on how the business is structured and the healthcare services it provides. Professional corporations and professional limited liability companies formed to provide medical services are generally subject to ownership restrictions requiring their shareholders or members to be licensed or otherwise legally authorized to provide the same professional service.
Other healthcare business structures may be subject to different rules. For example, ownership can affect whether a business falls within Florida’s Health Care Clinic Act and whether AHCA licensure or an exemption must be addressed.
Because physician-owned practices, non-physician-owned healthcare businesses, and licensed facilities can be treated differently, ownership should be evaluated before the entity is formed and operations begin.
Licensing and Regulatory Compliance
Licensing and Regulatory Compliance
Medical practices in Florida may be subject to a range of state and federal licensing, enrollment, and compliance requirements depending on the ownership structure, services provided, and payers involved. These may include:
- State licensing through the Florida Department of Health
- Florida health care clinic licensure or exemption requirements administered by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), when applicable
- Medicare provider enrollment requirements
- Florida Medicaid provider enrollment requirements
- HIPAA privacy and security requirements
- Stark Law compliance
- Anti-Kickback Statute compliance
Our healthcare attorneys help healthcare businesses determine which licensing and regulatory requirements apply to their particular practice model and address compliance issues during formation, restructuring, and operation.
Drafting and Negotiating Contracts
Legal agreements form the backbone of a well-structured medical practice. We assist in drafting and reviewing:
- Physician Employment Agreements – Addressing compensation, duties, termination provisions, benefits, malpractice coverage, and other employment terms.
- Partnership and Shareholder Agreements – Clarifying ownership rights, management responsibilities, profit-sharing, decision-making, and dispute resolution.
- Vendor and Supplier Contracts – Reviewing terms involving medical equipment, office leases, technology, and other services used by the practice.
- Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Agreements – Evaluating restrictive covenants under applicable Florida law, including physician-specific limitations that may apply in certain circumstances.
Well-drafted agreements can help establish clear expectations between owners, physicians, employees, vendors, and other parties while reducing the risk of future disputes.
Common Legal Mistakes When Starting a Medical Practice
Some legal problems that arise after a medical practice opens can be traced back to decisions made during formation. Common issues include:
- Choosing an entity structure without considering ownership, growth, or regulatory requirements
- Beginning operations before confirming all applicable professional, facility, or healthcare-business licensing requirements
- Using generic employment, partnership, vendor, or lease agreements that were not drafted with the healthcare business in mind
- Failing to clearly document ownership rights, management authority, and what happens if a physician leaves the practice
- Overlooking malpractice coverage, HIPAA policies, billing compliance, or other risk-management requirements
- Hiring clinical staff without adequately addressing scope-of-practice, supervision, and compliance responsibilities
Addressing these issues before the practice begins operating can be significantly easier than attempting to restructure agreements, ownership, or compliance procedures after a problem develops.
Risk Management and Liability Protection
Medical practices face unique risks, from malpractice claims to employment disputes. Our attorneys help practices address legal and operational risk through:
- Medical malpractice insurance
- Employment policies and compliance
- Corporate governance best practices
While an appropriate business structure can help address certain business liabilities, it does not eliminate a physician’s personal responsibility for their own professional negligence or misconduct.
Medical & Healthcare Practice Startup Lawyers
Starting a medical practice in Florida involves business, licensing, contractual, and healthcare regulatory considerations that should be addressed before operations begin.
At Di Pietro Partners, our experienced healthcare attorneys provide legal support to physicians, medical groups, and healthcare businesses throughout the formation process. Whether you’re starting a solo practice, forming a partnership, or expanding an existing healthcare business, we help address the legal and regulatory issues involved in establishing and growing the practice.
Should You Plan for Growth When Starting a Medical Practice?
Yes. The way a medical practice is structured at the beginning can affect how easily it can add physicians, bring in new owners, expand into additional services or locations, or eventually be sold. Physicians should consider not only how the practice will operate today, but also how ownership and management may change as the business grows.
Operating agreements, shareholder agreements, and other governing documents can address issues such as decision-making authority, ownership percentages, admitting new owners, the departure of a physician, and what happens if the owners later decide to separate.
Planning for these possibilities during formation can provide a clearer framework for growth, succession, and future transactions while reducing the likelihood that important ownership questions are left unresolved until a dispute or major business decision arises.
Buying/Selling a Healthcare or Medical Practice in Florida
The legal side involved in the sale of a business is a specialized area of law known as mergers and acquisitions. When the business involves healthcare, the transaction can involve additional regulatory requirements beyond those found in a typical business sale. Depending on the practice and transaction structure, these may include professional or facility licensing, change-of-ownership requirements, payer enrollment, patient records, healthcare contracts, and compliance with federal and state fraud-and-abuse laws.
Florida has its own set of regulations that may apply to medical practices, surgical facilities, home health providers, and other healthcare businesses. These requirements can make healthcare transactions more complex and require coordination between business, healthcare, and regulatory considerations.
Di Pietro Partners assists clients with the sale and acquisition of healthcare practices in Florida. This includes the purchase of a medical office or other health service providers such as home health businesses and other healthcare organizations.
Why Choose Di Pietro Partners for Healthcare Practice Formation?
At Di Pietro Partners, we offer a combination of healthcare law, business law, litigation experience, and medical-industry insight to guide healthcare professionals through the complexities of starting and structuring a medical practice. Our firm has experience with business formation and healthcare compliance, helping clients address the legal, regulatory, contractual, and operational issues that can arise when launching or expanding a practice.
With a board-certified doctor on staff, we provide a medical-industry perspective that can help our attorneys better understand the operational and clinical environment in which healthcare providers practice. Dr. Tiffany Di Pietro serves as the firm’s Medical Advisor and is quadruple board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Echocardiography, and Nuclear Cardiology.
Our attorneys represent physicians, medical practices, and other healthcare businesses in regulatory, transactional, compliance, and litigation matters. Whether you are launching a new practice, expanding an existing one, or restructuring for compliance and efficiency, Di Pietro Partners provides healthcare-focused legal guidance throughout the process.
Contact us today for a consultation to discuss your healthcare practice formation needs.
