"Five Tips for Selling a Medical Practice" from KJK Partner Kate Hickner

Summary for practice owners

This short legal presentation offers five planning principles for physician groups selling or integrating with another organization. Its central advice is to keep the transaction’s underlying purpose in view. An OB-GYN group may be responding to a planned retirement, a need for scale, operational pressures, or a desire to improve its ability to compete. A clear purpose helps owners decide which terms matter most during negotiations and avoid spending time on lower-priority details.

The speaker advises choosing a counterparty with compatible culture and values, and evaluating more than finances. Reputational, regulatory, and cultural diligence can help reveal how the combined organization will operate after closing. Owners should discuss management style, transparency, and the balance between physician and administrator involvement early. Those questions have direct consequences for staff, clinical operations, and the experience of physicians who remain with the group.

A focused negotiating team can help keep the process moving, provided it understands the group’s goals and stays aligned with the governing body that must approve the deal. Transaction documents should capture important business terms rather than leaving them as verbal assurances. The presenter also recommends considering how an unsuccessful combination could be unwound, including what happens to staff, patient records, equipment, and real estate. Legal advisors can help structure the transaction, address healthcare-specific requirements, and negotiate documents from the outset.

For practice owners, the presentation is a concise checklist for readiness and governance. Before entering negotiations, align partners around the objective, select a small authorized team, identify cultural questions for diligence, and make sure advisors are involved early enough to shape the structure. The talk is delivered by a healthcare attorney and reflects a legal perspective, but its emphasis on clear terms, operational fit, and planning for post-closing realities is useful for any physician group considering a sale or integration.

Owner takeaways

• 1:06 State the business purpose of the transaction so negotiations stay focused on the outcomes that matter.
• 2:11 Assess cultural compatibility and post-closing management practices alongside financial and regulatory diligence.
• 2:44 Build a small negotiating team that stays aligned with the group’s decision-makers.
• 3:14 Put material promises and terms in the written transaction documents.
• 3:45 Discuss unwind arrangements and involve healthcare legal advisors early in the process.

Why it made the list

It made the list for its concise checklist on transaction goals, counterparty fit, documentation, and legal planning for practice owners. It has 1,582 views and 74 likes.

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This video is published by KJK_Law on YouTube. Obstetricians.com is not affiliated with the creator, and inclusion is not an endorsement by either party. Watch it on YouTube.