Legal changes to the organization and operation of medical cabinets
With more than 40.500 active businesses in the health and social assistance services, the Government Ordinance no. 9 / 2025 introduces greater clarity to the organization and the operation of medical activity. Despite the interpretations…
With more than 40.500 active businesses in the health and social assistance services, the Government Ordinance no. 9 / 2025 introduces greater clarity to the organization and the operation of medical activity. Despite the interpretations aroused in the public area, whereby the medical practitioner may only practice as an owner or administrator, as an employee or as an independent individual, the medical practitioners can still organize in grouped or associated cabinets.
Accordingly, the following clarifications are necessary regarding the novelties introduced by this normative act:
Forms of organization
The new regulation introduces a broad and detailed classification, which is well-defined and offers a variety of organizational possibilities. Besides being practiced as a liberal profession, a medical office with legal status may take the form of
- Companies, applying the provisions of Companies’ Law no. 31 / 1990;
- NGOs, regulated by the Government Ordinance no. 26/2000;
- Medical cabinets under religious organizations or places of worship;
- Sports medicine cabinets.
The forms established under the previous regulation remain in effect for medical cabinets without legal personality, such as individual/grouped/associated/ medical civil companies. Occupational medicine, organized by public institutions for their employees, and medical cabinets within the structure of ministries and institutions with their healthcare system, are included.
Forms of collaboration
The clarifications brought by the Romanian lawmaker to these aspects have sparked controversies, especially among those medical practitioners working in the private healthcare area. We consider that the new provisions do not limit the medical practitioner’s right to practice by forming groups or in association with other medical cabinets, remaining mandatory to occupy one of these positions:
- Owner/administrator;
- Employee;
- Independent individual, under a contract with the medical cabinet.
An effective way to group or collaborate between medical cabinets remains the joint venture, whereby each member is entitled to a share in the profits and losses of one or more operations that they jointly undertake.
The main obligation of the partners to the joint venture is to contribute with assets, money, specific knowledge or other services, related to their medical activity. In relation to third parties each of the venture members retains their individual status.
