Provided by: Jennifer Kirschenbaum, Esq.
January 24, 2023
Question:
Jennifer,
My practice has been managed by a manager for several years. I have lost trust and faith the practice is being run properly. How do I extricate myself? Seems messy.
Thanks,
Dr. P
Answer:
Messy may be an understatement... Oftentimes a management arrangement will be dictated entirely by the contracts executed by the parties, and most times the agreements are slanted entirely towards the manager's benefit. Many management agreements do not allow a practice owner to terminate without "cause", and "cause" may be an extreme standard. On termination, there may be an acceleration of fees or termination fee you are subject to. Then, there are the access issues that arise in transition - who has control over EMR, billing software, ARs, bank accounts? Very messy, indeed.
Our first step in addressing separation from the manager will be to review all contracts executed. At that time, we can walk through the quicksand we see from an operational viewpoint. Each arrangement and set of circumstances are different, so no two separations look the same. A breakup can be very taxing; similar to a true divorce, the first step is deciding definitively that it is time to get out, and once that difficult decision is made, the next decisions to be made are how to accomplish separation with the least amount of pain (disruption and cost (monetary and otherwise...)). Exit is not an easy process and requires planning, and, hopefully, cooperation by all involved parties. Cooperation often times is asking too much in a management divorce, and litigation is sometimes (unfortunately) unavoidable...
Make sure you call us at the start of your decision-making process; do not wait for communication to spiral out of control....
