Who Owns Your Clinic? Consultant vs Franchise vs Platform
Before you sign with anyone, know who will own the brand, the patients, the Medical Director agreement and the supplier accounts. Here is how the five common ways to start a health clinic compare, and the questions to ask every company you interview.
See if you qualifyFounders usually compare five models
Each one can work. They differ in who ends up owning the business you build.
Independent clinic, built with a consultant
You form your own company and build your own clinic. The consultant (that is ACG) guides each step, then steps back. Everything is set up in your name from day one.
White-label clinical platform
You sell treatments such as GLP-1s, hormones or peptides under your brand, and the platform supplies the prescribing clinicians, the pharmacy and the patient software. Fast to start, often with no physical clinic.
Franchise
You buy the right to run a location under another company's brand and system, for an initial fee plus ongoing royalties set out in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
Launch and management membership
A service sets you up on its software and network and stays on for a monthly fee. You run your own brand, but parts of the business live in their systems.
Do it yourself
Courses, templates and launch kits. The lowest cost up front, and every decision, mistake and delay is yours to absorb.
Who owns what
Swipe the table sideways to compare all five.
| Independent clinic with ACG | White-label platform | Franchise | Launch and management membership | Do it yourself | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whose brand | Yours | Yours on the front end | The franchisor's | Yours | Yours |
| Patient relationships and records | Yours, in an EMR set up in your name | Usually held in the platform's systems | Inside the franchise system | Yours, often on their software | Yours |
| Who directs clinical care | Your own independent, state-licensed Medical Director, under your agreement | The platform's clinicians | Often arranged within the franchise system | A Medical Director they may introduce | Whoever you find |
| Supplier and pharmacy accounts | In your business's name | The platform's pharmacy network | Usually an approved vendor list | Mixed: some yours, some theirs | Yours, if you can open them |
| Physical clinic | In person, telehealth or hybrid: your choice | Usually none | Yes | Usually yes | Your choice |
| What you pay after launch | No royalties and no revenue share | Per patient, per order or subscription fees | Royalties and marketing fund fees | Ongoing membership or software fees | Nothing to a provider |
| Time to launch | A 60-day target, market and regulatory conditions permitting | Often days to weeks | Often months | Weeks to months | Usually the longest |
| If you leave or sell | Nothing to unwind: it is already yours | The clinical backbone stays with the platform | Transfer needs franchisor approval; non-compete terms are common | Depends on the contract | Nothing to unwind |
How platforms, franchises and membership services work varies by company and contract. This table describes common arrangements, not any one company. Read each agreement, and for a franchise the Franchise Disclosure Document, before you sign.
A platform fits
a gym, coach or med spa that wants to add a treatment quickly without running a clinic.
A franchise fits
a founder who wants an established brand and system and accepts royalties and the franchisor's rules.
An independent clinic fits
a founder who wants to own the whole business as an asset: brand, patients, accounts and the value it builds.
What “you own it” means
Our team has launched hundreds of clinics. We help entrepreneurs without a medical background build an independent clinic across 13 clinic types, in all 50 states. You choose the level of support, from our guidance while you lead, to working with you step by step, to done for you. At every level, here is what is in your name.
Your company
The entity is formed in your name, with your attorney and your accountant.
Your brand and website
Your name, your domain, your marketing accounts.
Your Medical Director agreement
An independent, state-licensed Medical Director directs all clinical care, under a contract you hold.
Your supplier and pharmacy accounts
Opened in your business's name, so pricing and access stay with you. You open them with our guidance and partners, or we coordinate the setup on our done-for-you level.
Your patient records
An EMR in your business's name, chosen with our guidance. Your patients are not a platform's customers.
No royalties
No royalties and no revenue share. When the engagement ends, you keep everything.
In states with corporate practice of medicine rules, a physician-led professional entity owns the clinical side, and your company owns and runs the business side under a management agreement. We map the structure your state requires with you and your healthcare attorney.
Ten questions to ask every company
Ask these of every consultant, platform, franchise or service you are considering, including us. The answers show who will own your clinic.
- Whose name is on the brand, the domain and the social accounts?
- Who employs or contracts the Medical Director, and who can end that agreement?
- Whose name is on the pharmacy and supplier accounts?
- Where do patient records live, and can I export them if I leave?
- What do I pay after launch, and for how long? Are there royalties, revenue share or per-patient fees?
- What happens if I leave? Is there a non-compete or a de-identification clause?
- Is the launch timeline a target or a promise, and what does it depend on?
- What exactly is included, and what is a separate engagement?
- Who handles the rules in my state, including who may own a medical business?
- Can I speak with three founders you have worked with?
Common questions
Do I need a medical background to own a clinic with ACG?
No. No medical background is required to own the business. An independent, state-licensed Medical Director directs all clinical care, and in states with corporate practice of medicine rules we help you and your healthcare attorney set up the structure the state requires.
What does it mean that I own the clinic?
Your company, brand, website, Medical Director agreement, supplier and pharmacy accounts and patient records are in your name from day one. ACG takes no royalties and no revenue share, so when our engagement ends there is nothing to unwind.
How is ACG different from a white-label telehealth platform?
A platform lets you sell treatments under your brand while its clinicians, pharmacy and software do the clinical work. ACG helps you build your own clinic instead, with your own Medical Director and your own accounts. A platform can be faster to start; an independent clinic is an asset you own.
How is ACG different from a franchise?
A franchise licenses you another company's brand and system for an initial fee plus ongoing royalties. ACG is not a franchise: you build your own brand, choose your own vendors and pay no royalties.
How long does it take to open?
We work to a 60-day launch target, market and regulatory conditions permitting. Licensing, buildout and state rules set the real pace, and we plan around them with you.
Built for Compliance
This page is educational and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Ownership rules for medical businesses differ by state; confirm your structure with a licensed healthcare attorney. ACG is a consulting firm, not a franchise and not a medical organization, and does not provide medical care. An independent, state-licensed Medical Director directs all clinical care. The 60-day launch is a target, market and regulatory conditions permitting, not a guarantee.