Louisiana Management Services Agreement Guide: Protecting Records, Patients and Clinical Judgment
Louisiana's Board flagged termination of employment, records access and compensation arrangements as potentially problematic, so agreements should protect patient choice and records and never control the manner of care.
Key Highlights
- The Board says a corporation that controls and directs the manner in which a physician provides services would be engaging in the unauthorized practice of medicine.
- It flagged termination of employment, ownership of and access to records and compensation arrangements as potentially problematic.
- The medical practice act bars soliciting or receiving anything of economic value in return for referrals, and a provider referral statute bars paying for referring or soliciting patients.
- The Board's 2001 laser statement requires the physician to be physically present on the premises when non-physicians treat.
How to Price the Management Fee
We found no general Louisiana fee-splitting ground and no Board rule on percentage management fees, though the Board's statement flags compensation arrangements. The medical practice act bars soliciting, accepting or receiving anything of economic value in return for and based on referrals, so we use a fixed fee for defined services and nothing based on referrals.
What the Practice Must Keep
The agreement preserves the physician's access to records and patients' freedom of choice on a departure, which a companion 2015 Board statement says its non-per-se view was predicated on, and it gives the corporation no authority over how the physician provides care. Under a Board rule quoted in its IV statement, a physician may not enter any arrangement as medical director or otherwise that condones unlicensed practice without direct and immediate personal supervision.
Terms to Avoid
Avoid any control over the manner of care, any limit on the physician's access to records or patients on termination, any arrangement with a title-only medical director, and any referral-based compensation.
Term, Records and Departing Clinicians
A 2024 law effective in 2025 limits physician non-competes to three years for primary care physicians and five years for others, with limits on territory and a two-year post-termination cap and exemptions for rural hospital and federally qualified health center physicians. We do not use non-competes for employed clinicians.
Filings, Notices and Watch Items
We found no Louisiana provider transaction notice law. A 2026 law bars boards from prohibiting peptides from compliant 503A and 503B sources, which does not authorize research-grade product.
Drafting Checklist
- Fee: fixed, nothing based on referrals.
- Records: physician access preserved on departure.
- Patients: free choice preserved.
- Control: none over the manner of care.
- Supervision: physician physically on premises when non-physicians treat.
- Non-competes: none for employed clinicians.
How We Draft It
Patients pay the physician-owned practice, the practice pays the management company a fixed monthly fee under the agreement, and the management company pays MedGrid a fixed monthly retainer for consulting. The management company never practices medicine, and the agreement never moves a clinical decision to it. Our template follows the same flat-fee design in every state, with the state-specific limits below layered on top.
Disclaimer
This article is general educational information, not legal advice. Management agreement rules change and differ by state, and this summary draws on our published state guide, parts of which rest on secondary sources, so have health care counsel in the state review any agreement before you sign.
MedGrid MSO provides management services to independently owned practices; it does not practise medicine and does not direct clinical decisions. Requirements vary by state and by service, and change over time — nothing on this page is legal or medical advice. Talk to us or your own counsel before making a structural decision for your clinic.