Case: From a municipal hospital doctor to owning a dental practice in Lviv

Moving from a state or municipal healthcare facility (CNP) into private practice is the most desired and, at the same time, one of the most worrying steps in a doctor’s career. The clinical experience is already there, an established patient base is ready to follow their doctor, but the world of entrepreneurship is intimidating because of the unknown: taxes, state registration, inspections, premises requirements and the complex licensing process with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

Most doctors make the same common mistake: they invest all their savings in rent and expensive dental equipment, only to find out later that the layout of the premises needs to be adapted to the requirements of the State Building Standards, accessibility requirements and licensing conditions, while documents may be left without consideration because of inaccuracies.

Below is the story of a client of Prikhodko & Partners — a practising doctor from Lviv who delegated the legal routine to experts and opened their own dental practice without downtime or financial losses.

Initial situation: the doctor’s request and ambitions

Client: practising dentist, Lviv.

Background: more than 10 years of continuous experience at a municipal city dental clinic.

Goal: to open a modern private practice, register as a sole proprietor and obtain a medical practice licence for a sole proprietor doctor in the specialty of “Dentistry”.

Strategic objective: to design the business model so that within 6–12 months the licence could be expanded without obstacles to include prosthodontics, dental surgery, X-ray diagnostics, and the employment of specialised colleagues and assistants.

Why is starting as a sole proprietor an ideal solution for individual practice?

Many people believe that private medicine is available only to large LLCs. However, a sole proprietor with a medical practice licence can be a convenient format for starting an individual dental practice:

1. Minimum bureaucracy: simple reporting and an optimised tax burden under the simplified taxation system.
2. Right to hire staff: a sole proprietor doctor has the legal right to hire nurses, assistants and, in the future, engage other doctors under employment agreements.
3. Gradual scaling: it is possible to start with one dental chair and one specialty (“Dentistry”) without overpaying for maintaining a cumbersome legal entity structure (LLC) and the position of a general director.

How we implemented the project: a step-by-step roadmap from Prikhodko & Partners lawyers

Step 1. Business registration and selection of KVED codes for medical activities

The first step was the legal formalisation of the entrepreneurial activity. The following were selected as the relevant economic activity codes for the dental practice:

• 86.23 “Dental practice” — the principal KVED code for providing dental services;
• 86.21 “General medical practice” and 86.22 “Specialist medical practice” — reserve classifications for the future engagement of related specialists;
• 86.90 “Other human health activities” — required for engaging nursing staff and service-related activities.

A taxation system was also selected taking into account the model of working with private patients, suppliers of materials and the future scaling of the practice.

Step 2. Pre-audit of the premises in Lviv before signing the lease agreement

The main risk for a doctor is renting a location that is difficult or expensive to adapt to medical practice requirements. Our lawyers, together with a certified construction expert, reviewed the selected non-residential premises in Lviv:

• area requirements (DBN V.2.2-10:2022): the consulting room was planned with sufficient space for installing a dental unit (from 14–18 sq. m), with a separate waiting area, sanitary facility and sterilisation area;
• actual accessibility for persons with reduced mobility: the width of door openings was checked (at least 90 cm), as well as the absence of high thresholds and the availability of a ramp with an incline of up to 8%. We arranged the official Conclusion on accessibility for persons with reduced mobility ;
• medical waste: a direct agreement was concluded with a licensed company for the removal and disposal of hazardous medical waste (used needles, gloves and wipes).

Step 3. Qualification verification and preparation of the Material and Technical Base Information

We conducted a full personnel audit of the doctor’s documents: diploma, specialist doctor certificate in the specialty of “Dentistry”, and certificate confirming the awarded qualification category.

We then prepared one of the key documents for the licensing authority — the Information on the condition of the material and technical base and the availability of personnel.

• each piece of equipment (dental unit, autoclave, compressor, aspirator) was entered using serial numbers, certificates of conformity and the official Ministry of Health Equipment Standards;
• the parameters of the engineering systems (supply and exhaust ventilation, lighting) were clearly specified.

Step 4. Submission to the Ministry of Health and legal tracking of the case

The document package was submitted to the Ministry of Health, and the lawyers monitored the progress of the review by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine on a daily basis, eliminating any risk of the process being interrupted.

Comparison table: independent approach vs legal support

Case result

1. The doctor obtained an indefinite medical practice licence from the Ministry of Health in the specialty of “Dentistry” on the first submission and without comments.
2. A one-off state fee was paid (1 subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons — UAH 3,328).
3. The dental practice in Lviv opened to patients according to the planned schedule without downtime of the rented premises.
4. A reliable basis was created for the client’s subsequent application to expand the licence to include dental surgery and a targeted X-ray unit under a simplified procedure.

FAQ: Frequently asked questions from doctors moving into private practice

Are you planning to open your own medical practice in Lviv or another city in Ukraine?

Do not postpone opening your own practice because of the complexity of registration and licensing procedures. The medical law lawyers at Prikhodko & Partners support the entire process from sole proprietor registration to obtaining a Ministry of Health licence.

We take care of:

• legal analysis of the premises and lease agreements;
• arranging the accessibility conclusion for persons with reduced mobility;
• reviewing the qualification documents of the doctor and staff;
• error-free completion of the Material and Technical Base Information in accordance with the equipment standards;
• guaranteed turnkey support of the case before the Ministry of Health.

Are you planning to open a dental practice or move from a municipal healthcare facility into private practice? Submit a request — the lawyers at Prikhodko & Partners will prepare a step-by-step plan for registering as a sole proprietor, reviewing the premises and obtaining a medical practice licence.