Management Service Organizations

Management Service Organizations (MSOs) are companies that handle the business side of physician practices so doctors can focus on clinical care. They manage billing, HR, IT, compliance, and operations. They sound like a useful administrative layer. But they've also become one of the primary vehicles private equity uses to get into the business of medicine without technically owning a medical practice. And depending on who's running the MSO, they can either be a lifeline for a struggling practice or a slow transfer of control away from the physicians running it.