FAQ on Ambulatory Medical Centers in Germany: Setting Up, Acquiring and Taking Over Practices and Replacing Staff

When assessing ambulatory medical centers in Germany (German abbreviation: MVZ), it is important to differentiate between those MVZs where the doctors are "employees" and those where the doctors are "freelance professionals". Whether setting up an MVZ is the right decision and, if so, what form the newly established MVZ should take, will depend on the individual case and on whether the appropriate conditions are present. Given the existing differences between group practices (German abbreviation: BAG) and MVZs, it is important to consider whether setting up an MVZ is appropriate and necessary for the requisite purposes. It is important to be aware that MVZs differ quite considerably from BAGS in terms of how they are established, how they are incorporated, the number of potential doctors employed, the replacement of doctors, the number of potential locations and the ways in which profits are distributed.