Buyer guide
Buying Into a Medical Practice: How Partnership Buy-Ins Work
For many physicians, becoming a partner is the first practice purchase they ever make. Here is how the price is set and what to ask.
Short answer
A physician buy-in is usually priced on some mix of the practice's tangible assets, accounts receivable and goodwill, and is often paid over several years through a reduced share of income rather than a lump sum. A physician recruiter writing for ACOEM describes most partnership tracks as two to five years. Always ask how the price is calculated and how you would be bought out if you leave.
What you are buying into
When you become a partner, you buy a share of the practice and start sharing in its profits, not just your own production. The American College of Physicians lists three components practices use to set the buy-in: tangible assets, accounts receivable and goodwill. Practices combine them differently:
- Some include all three.
- Some include tangible assets and receivables but leave out goodwill.
- Some base the buy-in only on accounts receivable.
The more of those components included, the higher the price. Ask for the formula in writing.
How buy-ins are paid
Few associates pay cash up front. A common approach, described in ACP's guide, is a phased buy-in through reduced income: for example, 60% of a full partner's share in year one, 70% in year two, 80% in year three and 90% in year four, with the difference counting toward the buy-in. Other practices let you pay over time from future compensation, or finance the buy-in with a loan. Some groups allow "sweat equity."
How long the partnership track takes
A physician recruiter writing for ACOEM's career site says most partnership tracks take two to five years, varying by specialty and group. Buy-in amounts range from nothing to several hundred thousand dollars. Treat these as general observations, not survey data.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Exactly how is the buy-in price calculated, and is it fixed now or set when you become a partner?
- Can you pay over time or from future compensation, or is it a lump sum?
- What does partnership include: profit share, ancillaries such as imaging or a surgery center, real estate?
- How are partners paid: equal shares, production or a formula?
- If you leave, how is your share bought back? Day Pitney recommends asking whether it is based on book value, fair market value, a share of receivables or a set formula.
- What non-compete applies if you leave? Several states now restrict physician non-competes, with exceptions.
- Is the practice talking to private equity or a hospital? A sale soon after you buy in changes everything.
Buy-in or buy the whole practice?
Buying in spreads the cost and risk and lets you learn the practice first. Buying an entire practice gives you full control and all the profit but requires financing and management skills from day one. See what it costs to buy a practice and how doctors finance a purchase.
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Join the Buyer ListCommon questions
How is a physician buy-in price calculated?
Usually from some combination of tangible assets, accounts receivable and goodwill. Practices differ in which components they include, so ask for the formula in writing.
How long is a typical partnership track?
A physician recruiter writing for ACOEM describes most tracks as two to five years, varying by specialty and group.
Can I pay a buy-in through reduced salary?
Often yes. A common approach phases in your share of profits over several years, with the difference counting toward the buy-in.
Related reading
Sources
Figures are attributed to their source and date. Ranges are published estimates, not a valuation of any practice.
- American College of Physicians, "Income Distribution and Partner Buy-Ins & Buy-Outs," 2015 (dated; cited for method). Link
- Jackson Physician Search via ACOEM, "How Physicians Should Evaluate Partnership Opportunities in Private Practice," April 8, 2026. Link
- Day Pitney, "Congratulations, You've Been Offered a Physician Partnership! But What Are You Signing?," June 2, 2025. Link
- Maynard Nexsen, "Recent Developments in Physician Non-Compete Agreements: A State and Federal Landscape in Flux," June 29, 2026. Link