Adding an associate dentist to your practice is an exciting growth marker, bringing opportunities for new patients, extended office hours and expanded treatment options. When contemplating hiring a new associate, first consider the legal, financial and team dynamic aspects.
CDA’s practice management analysts recommend evaluating these four key factors:
1. Define the employment or contractual model
Will the associate be an employee, an independent contractor or share ownership in your practice? This is a critical decision because business and legal responsibilities differ significantly depending on the model.
CDA members can sign in to view detailed guidance on determining associate legal relationships.
2. Credentialing, benefit plan participation and billing disclosures
When the associate begins treating patients, you must notify dental plans there will be a new dentist treating patients at that location even if the associate dentist will be an out of network provider. If the intention is to have the dentist contract with dental plans, patients should be informed that the dentist is out-of-network until the contracting process is complete. Note that most dental plans will not retroactively enroll the dentist.
3. Integration into practice culture and workflow
Beyond contractual and billing mechanics, adding an associate affects your practice’s operations, culture and long-term strategy. Are you able to share a clear vision for your practice with your team and new hires? Document how new team members fit into that vision and walk them through your expectations as part of onboarding.
Members can sign in to access a helpful new associate onboarding checklist.
4. Risk management, compliance and exit strategy
Bringing someone new into your practice exposes it to additional risks, such as billing audits, regulatory grievances, patient complaints and contract discontinuities. Associates are part of the audit/complaint ecosystem and therefore must be properly supervised. Some important questions to address:
- Who is responsible for oversight of documentation, charting, billing and treatment standards? How will you monitor compliance?
- How will you address issues such as under- or over-treatment, patient complaints or insurance audits resulting from the associate’s work?
- What exit provisions are in place in the associate agreement regarding termination, patient transition, non-compete/non-solicitation and continuity for your practice?
- How will the practice respond if the associate’s credentialing with dental benefit plans is delayed, revoked or terminated? What are your contingency plans?
More support from CDA
As a benefit of membership, access additional tools and guidance from CDA analysts to help successfully onboard a new associate:
- Practice Health Check: Adding Associate Dentists to an Existing Practice. Quickly assess your level of preparedness for adding an associate to dental plans and get resources to inform your plan decision-making.
- Practice management resources. Find guides, templates, checklists and forms to streamline practice management, including sample associate agreements and legal relationship considerations.
CDA’s resource library, along with phone and email guidance from specialized analysts, provides valuable support for each step of adding an associate: the legal framework, billing, integration into your practice’s systems and proactively managing risk. Thoughtful planning can position your practice and associate for a productive, aligned partnership.