Can I take over the OHIP billing number when I buy a medical practice?

Buying a medical practice in Ontario means buying the practice, not the billing number. The number belongs to a physician, so it cannot be bought, sold or listed as an asset in the purchase agreement. Each physician who will bill the Ontario Health Insurance Plan needs a number of their own, and that process runs alongside the purchase rather than inside it. Planning both together is what keeps day one of ownership from stalling.

Why the number stays with the physician

An OHIP billing number is a personal identifier issued by the Ministry of Health to a physician who meets the province’s enrolment and licensing requirements, including good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). It is tied to that physician, not to the clinic, the corporation or the name on the door, so a purchase agreement has nothing to transfer.

What the buyer does acquire

The buyer acquires the practice: its patient roster, goodwill, equipment, lease and staff and, in a share purchase, the corporation that operates it. If that corporation is a medicine professional corporation, the CPSO’s rules limit who may own it. The College says holding companies may not own shares in one, allows trustee ownership only in a narrow family case, and requires a Certificate of Authorization to practise. Practising or holding out as a professional corporation without that certificate is an offence.

Getting the incoming physician billing

An incoming physician applies to the Ministry of Health for their own number, and the application should start well before closing so the legal and regulatory tracks finish together. Billing under the seller’s number while a new one is pending is a compliance risk, not a shortcut. A lawyer who knows health-practice sales can map the timing for your deal. The wider checklist is in buying a medical clinic or family practice.

Patient records follow their own rules

Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner says a custodian’s duties to protect personal health information and honour access and correction rights continue until a legally authorized successor has custody and control of the records. The closing plan should therefore say who holds them on day one.