Before you hire or offer a contact there are more than a few things you need to keep in mind. While this is not a complete list it contains several things Bridget and I have learned the hard way and hope to help you avoid. The contract you offer needs to contain details about all these requirements that must be met to be employed, who will get them done, when it will happen and what happens if these tasks aren’t completed or are not possible because of some unknown restriction or prohibition. It’s vitally important to limit the amount of time from hiring to collection of fees when it comes to bringing on an associate or being one. If you don’t plan ahead then your cash flow will suffer terribly.

The doctor needs an NPI and it needs to be linked to your facility NPI

DEA number – we don’t really need one as an orthodontist but it makes life much easier to have it.

Insurance and Medicaid credentialing. You’ll need your employee to have credentials with each and every insurance company. This takes months. Know that typically you’ll get no money from insurance or Medicaid for at least 90 days after they start.

The associate will need malpractice insurance with you listed as secondary insured.

The associate will need a state dental license and speciality license – don’t take this for granted.

You will need to get copies of the associate’s diploma and license for each office.

Medicaid  and All insurances credentials if new or linked to your facility NPI if moving within the state.

You will need to audit random insurance claims filed under the associate monthly for the first year to insure you’re getting paid on time and at the correct rate and that the money is going to you not to the patient. Lots of “mistakes” are made early on in our experience.