Solutions / Collaborating Physician

A Collaborating Physician Who Actually Reviews the Work

Nurse practitioners and physician assistants run a large share of the day-to-day care in aesthetics and wellness, and in many states that only works lawfully with a physician agreement behind it. We connect you with a collaborating physician licensed where you treat, put the agreement and the chart-review cadence in writing, and keep both current — and because MedGrid is a network, not a single signature, the same relationship can sit alongside the entity, pharmacy and clinical bench your practice also needs.

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What It Is

A Collaboration Is an Agreement, Not a Name

A collaborating physician is a licensed physician who enters a written agreement with a specific NP or PA. The agreement defines what the NP or PA may evaluate and prescribe, how the physician reviews their work, how the two reach each other when a case needs a second opinion, and what happens if either side leaves. It attaches to the NP’s or PA’s license and practice — which is why it is a different job from a medical director, who holds clinical authority over the clinic’s whole service menu. One physician can fill both roles; the duties and the paperwork are not the same.

Whether you need one depends on your state. AANP classes states as full, reduced or restricted practice for NPs, and PAs follow a separate state-by-state path from supervision toward collaboration. Even where an NP practices independently, the NP’s authority covers the NP’s own license, not the RNs and other staff they delegate to, and corporate-practice-of-medicine rules can still require a physician-owned entity. We map that for your state before anything is signed.

Service Details

What the Arrangement Covers

A Physician Licensed Where You Treat

Licensed in the state the patient is in, verified with the board — not a license in one state stretched across several.

A Written Collaborative Agreement

Scope, formulary, controlled-substance limits, escalation, availability and exit terms drafted to your state’s requirements, not a one-page form.

Chart Review That Gets Recorded

A review cadence on the calendar, with findings logged — so the file shows the work was read, not just signed.

Protocols the Physician Owns

Written protocols and standing orders your NPs, PAs and staff follow, revised by the physician as your menu and your state’s rules change.

The Workflow

How We Connect You

Map Your Licenses and Your State

What your NPs and PAs may do independently, what needs a physician, and what your entity structure requires.

Connect You With the Physician

A collaborating physician licensed where you treat, with a manageable provider ratio and a real response window.

Put It in Writing

The agreement, protocols and review cadence documented before anyone treats a patient under them.

Keep It Current

Reviewed and reissued as licenses, your service menu and state rules change.

Operating Structure

The Management Agreement and the Flow of Funds

The PC and the MSO are connected by a Management Services Agreement (MSA) — the contract that defines what each side owes the other, and how money actually moves between them.

Fig. 1 — Compliant Money Flow

Patients

Pay for clinical services

All clinical revenue

The Professional Entity

Holds patient revenue, contracts providers, bills for care

Two fixed fees, paid on schedule

MedGrid MSO

Flat monthly fee for administration & compliance

Medical Director

Flat fee for oversight & chart signing

Patient Revenue — All revenue lands in the PC’s account, not the MSO’s — the entity that delivers care is the entity that gets paid, which is what keeps this CPOM-compliant.

The Management Fee — The MSO is paid a flat, fair-market fee for what it actually provides, never a percentage of medical revenue — that percentage is what turns a fee into fee-splitting.

Financial Separation — The PC’s clinical account and the MSO’s operating account stay separate, protecting the physician’s license and your investment if either side is ever questioned.

Who Signs What — The physician signs medical decisions, you sign business decisions — the MSA keeps that line clean when the same two people run the same clinic.

Beyond Collaborating Physician

One Platform. Every Workflow.

More Than a Signature

The same network connects the entity and banking structure, the NP and PA clinical bench, the pharmacy and vendor relationships, and the business services a clinic needs once the physician is in place.

Network

Fits Your PC and MSO

In a CPOM state the collaborating physician sits inside the physician-owned PC, patient revenue lands in the PC, and the MSO is paid a flat fair-market-value fee. The physician is paid a flat amount for the role.

Structure

A Physician per State

Collaboration follows the license. A practice treating patients in three states needs a physician licensed in each, not one name claiming coverage they do not hold.

Multi-state

Keep the One You Have

If you already work with a physician you want to keep, we bring the relationship up to standard — agreement, protocols and review cadence — rather than replace it.

Existing physician

Not Spread Across Dozens of Practices

A physician who collaborates with too many providers cannot review anyone’s work. We keep the ratio where genuine review is possible.

Ratio

One File a Board Can Ask For

Agreement, protocols and the chart reviews behind them sit together, so an inquiry is a download, not a scramble.

Audit ready

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Still not sure? Twenty minutes on the phone answers what a page can't.

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What is a collaborating physician?

A licensed physician who enters a written agreement with a specific nurse practitioner or physician assistant, covering prescribing authority, protocols, chart review and availability. It is tied to the NP’s or PA’s practice rather than to the clinic’s whole service menu.

Is that the same as a medical director?

No. A medical director holds clinical authority over the clinic’s service menu and standing orders; a collaborating physician is the physician an NP or PA practices alongside. The same physician can do both, but the duties and the paperwork differ.

Does my state require one?

It depends on the state and on whether you are an NP or a PA. Full practice states let NPs practice under their own license; reduced and restricted states require a physician agreement or supervision. PA rules are set separately. We confirm your state in writing before drafting anything.

Can I keep my existing physician?

Yes. We review the arrangement, keep what holds up, and fill any gap — the agreement, the protocols or a state your physician is not licensed in.

How is the physician paid?

A flat, fixed amount for the role, not a rate per chart, per prescription or per patient, and not a share of revenue. A fee that moves with volume creates a fee-splitting problem and a reason to sign faster.

What else can MedGrid connect me with?

Beyond the physician: the PC/MSO entity structure and banking, an NP and PA clinical bench, 503A and 503B pharmacy partners, vetted vendors with member pricing, protocols, accounting and payroll, and marketing reviewed against your state’s advertising rules.