Independent health facility licence

An independent health facility licence is the Ontario ministry licence behind a community diagnostic or surgical clinic. A buyer of such a clinic meets it early, because the ministry says the services each centre may provide are set out in its licence. The guide on patient records, licensing and regulatory approval in a practice sale covers the wider picture.

The change in name and statute

An Ontario ministry bulletin says the Integrated Community Health Services Centres Act, 2023 (ICHSCA) repeals and replaces the Independent Health Facilities Act, and that independent health facilities are now licensed as integrated community health services centres, commonly called community surgical and diagnostic centres. The ministry says licences are issued under the ICHSCA, with the specific services set out in the conditions and limitations of each licence, and that the Director may impose additional conditions and limitations at any time. This entry covers Ontario only; check the rules in the province where the clinic is.

Transfers

The ministry states that a licence is not transferable without the approval of the Director, under section 11 of the ICHSCA, and that, because a corporate licensee must notify the Director of a change affecting control and may need prior approval under its licence conditions, proposed amalgamations or share transfers must be submitted for the Director’s prior approval. It also says a transferred licence runs for the remainder of the original licence term. Ask what approvals the structure of the deal requires, and when.