Opening a Medical Practice in Geneva: 8 Administrative Steps You Need to Know

What every physician should know before opening a practice

"one administrative misstep can delay your launch by months or block your billing entirely"

Setting up a private practice in Geneva is an exciting step :

but also a dense administrative process. Between cantonal authorities, official registries, and insurance bodies, it's easy to lose time when steps are tackled in the wrong order.

Here are the 8 essential steps, in the order they typically come up.

1. Choose the right legal structure

"Sole proprietorship vs Sàrl doctor ?"

Before any administrative step, one question comes first: sole proprietorship (raison individuelle) or company (Sàrl / SA) ?

• Sole proprietorship: quick to set up, light formalities, but unlimited personal liability. Well suited to a solo practice. 
• Sàrl or SA: protects personal assets, offers a more scalable structure, and allows tax optimisation, but involves heavier incorporation formalities. Recommended as soon as a group practice or growth is being considered.

 This choice has direct consequences on your personal taxation, social security coverage, and your ability to evolve the practice over time. It deserves real thought, not a default decision.

2. Obtain your licence to practise (AMedS Geneva file)

In Geneva, any physician wishing to practise privately must build an AMedS file with the cantonal authorities. This is a mandatory gateway before any activity can start, and processing times can be longer than expected if the file isn't complete from the outset.

3. Apply for an RCC number Switzerland

The RCC number (creditor code register) is essential for billing your services to health insurers. Without it, reimbursement under LAMal (basic health insurance - Swiss mandatory health insurance) simply isn't possible, this step needs to be anticipated well ahead of opening, not after.

4. Register with the commercial register

Registration with the commercial register depends on your legal structure: mandatory for a Sàrl or SA, and required for a sole proprietorship once turnover exceeds the legal threshold.

5. Affiliate with social insurance schemes

As a self-employed person or an employer, several affiliations need to be set up: the AVS (old-age insurance) fund, occupational pension (LPP) if you employ staff, and accident insurance (LAA). Each status, self-employed vs. employer, carries its own obligations, and a misclassification at this stage can prove costly later on.

6. Join the tariff agreements (TarDoc)

Billing health insurers requires joining the tariff agreements currently in force, TarDoc. This framework governs your relationship with insurers and determines your billing rates.

7. Connect to the electronic patient record (DEP / CARA)

Following recent legal changes, any physician newly authorised to bill under compulsory health insurance (AOS) must connect to a reference community, CARA in Geneva, for managing the electronic patient record (DEP). This obligation is still poorly known among many physicians setting up their practice.

8. Don't overlook the related legal obligations

Finally, a few obligations that are often discovered too late: LPP coverage for any staff you employ Professional liability insurance, essential to cover your civil liability Collaboration agreements and employment contracts if you share a practice or employ staff

What happens after opening?

Once these steps are completed, the real question becomes: who will handle bookkeeping, tax, and payroll on an ongoing basis? Many practitioners underestimate how much time these tasks take once the practice is running, time that comes straight out of what could be spent with patients.

Setting up a private practice in Geneva?

At DHAC, we support physicians from A to Z: choosing the right structure, handling the AMedS and RCC filings, then managing accounting, tax, and payroll once the practice is open. Book a free, no-obligation first meeting.