6 free templates across medical, dental, veterinary, and behavioral health practices, plus a small-practice version, with the FLSA and HIPAA compliance guidance the template farms skip. Download as DOCX.
A practice manager job description has a clear center and a part the generic templates always skip. The center: in US search, practice manager means a healthcare practice manager, the person who runs the business side of a medical, dental, veterinary, or behavioral health practice. The part they skip: compliance. In a small practice, the practice manager owns FLSA classification questions, HIPAA officer duties, OSHA, and the employment-law thresholds that switch on as the practice grows, because there is no separate department to hand them to. Name the specialty, describe the operations honestly, and spell out the compliance load, and the posting describes the job as it really is.
At FirstHR, we build templates for the small independent practices that make this hire and run it without a dedicated HR department. The six below cover the main specialties plus a small-practice version, with the compliance pieces built in. The guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
TL;DR
In US search, practice manager means a healthcare practice manager running a medical, dental, veterinary, or behavioral health practice. The role spans operations, people, finance, and compliance, and in a small practice the manager often serves as HIPAA Privacy and Security Officer. Practice managers are usually FLSA exempt (confirm by duties and the $684/week threshold). The BLS category (medical and health services managers) had a median wage of $117,960 (May 2024), growing 23%. Download as DOCX.
What a Practice Manager Does
A practice manager runs the business side of a healthcare practice so providers can focus on patient care, covering operations, people, finance, and compliance. In a small practice, the role expands to include the HR and compliance functions a larger organization would assign to a separate department.
The federal data tracks the role under medical and health services managers, a category that also includes practice administrators and clinical managers. What shifts by specialty is the detail: dental billing and recall systems, veterinary inventory and client service, behavioral health privacy, and so on.
Office Manager vs Practice Manager
Before writing, confirm you need a practice manager rather than an office manager, because the scope differs and the wrong title reaches the wrong candidates. Two related titles, practice administrator and clinical manager, sit nearby too.
Office Manager
Front-office focus
Runs the front office and administrative tasks: scheduling, reception, records, and day-to-day support. Common in a solo or very small practice. Narrower scope than a practice manager, with less financial and compliance ownership.
Practice Manager
Whole-practice operations
Runs the whole business side of the practice: staff, finances, billing, compliance, and operations. The role this page covers, typically hired once a practice has a group of providers and a support team.
Practice Administrator
Senior or larger group
A more senior title used at larger groups, with broader strategic and financial responsibility. Often overlaps with practice manager but sits higher in a bigger organization.
Clinical Manager
Clinical operations
Focuses on the clinical side, supervising clinical staff and care delivery, often in a hospital or larger system. A different focus from the business-operations role of a practice manager.
Match the Title to the Scope
Solo or very small practice, front-office focus: Office Manager. A group of providers, whole-practice operations: Practice Manager. A larger group with strategic scope: Practice Administrator. Clinical-staff supervision in a system: Clinical Manager. Use the title that matches the scope you actually need.
Practice Manager Duties and Responsibilities
A practice manager's duties cluster into operations, people, finance, and compliance. The exact mix shifts by specialty and size, but these four areas hold across the role.
Operations
Run daily practice operations
Oversee scheduling and office flow
Manage records and policies
People
Hire, train, and supervise staff
Manage performance and schedules
Handle staffing and onboarding
Finance
Oversee budgets and payroll
Manage billing and insurance claims
Track financial performance
Compliance
Ensure HIPAA and OSHA compliance
Serve as HIPAA officer in small practices
Manage BAAs and training
In a small practice, the compliance and people areas expand because the manager owns functions a larger organization would delegate. For a structured way to scope the role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by specialty, and use the small-practice version if you are an independent practice without a dedicated HR function. The operations core runs through all six, but the billing, the compliance specifics, and the certifications differ enough that the matched version reads credibly. Use this guide to choose.
Medical Practice Manager
The core role
The dominant meaning: running a physician practice's operations, staff, billing, and compliance. The right starting point for most medical practices.
Small Practice (No HR)
Owner-led, no HR dept
The flagship version for an independent practice without a dedicated HR function, where the manager also owns HR and compliance, including HIPAA officer duties.
Dental Practice Manager
Dental office
For a dental office, covering dental billing and insurance, recall systems, and dental-specific OSHA and bloodborne-pathogen requirements.
Veterinary Practice Manager
Vet hospital or clinic
For a veterinary practice, covering client service, inventory, and workplace safety, often paired with the CVPM certification.
Behavioral Health Manager
Mental health practice
For a mental or behavioral health practice, with heightened attention to patient privacy and HIPAA alongside the standard operations role.
General Practice Manager
Multi-specialty
A general version that fits multi-specialty or other practice types, with the standard operations, finance, and compliance responsibilities.
Match the Template to the Practice
Physician practice: Medical. Independent, no HR department: Small Practice. Dental office: Dental. Veterinary clinic: Veterinary. Mental health practice: Behavioral Health. Multi-specialty or other: General. Whichever you pick, name the compliance duties and classify the role correctly.
6 Free Practice Manager Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: practice overview, position summary, key responsibilities, qualifications, a compliance note, and how to apply. Fill in the brackets, set the practice and reporting line, and post.
Download All 6 Job Description Templates
Medical, small practice, dental, veterinary, behavioral health, and general practice manager. All in one DOCX.
Template 1: Medical Practice Manager
The dominant meaning: running a physician practice's operations, staff, billing, and compliance. The right starting point for most medical practices.
Medical Practice Manager Job Description
MEDICAL PRACTICE MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION
Practice: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Owner / Physician Partners / Practice Administrator]
Employment type: Full-time, W-2
FLSA status: Exempt (executive or administrative; confirm by duties and pay)
Compensation: $______ per year [+ benefits]
ABOUT [PRACTICE NAME]
[Practice Name] is a [specialty] medical practice in [City, State] with
[number] providers and a support team. We are hiring a Medical Practice
Manager to run the day-to-day operations of the practice.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Medical Practice Manager oversees the daily operations of the practice,
managing staff, finances, billing, scheduling, and compliance so that
providers can focus on patient care. You will be the operational leader of
the practice.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Manage daily operations of the practice
•Hire, train, and supervise administrative staff
•Oversee budgets, payroll, and financial reporting
•Manage billing, coding, and insurance claims
•Oversee patient scheduling and front-office flow
•Ensure HIPAA and OSHA compliance
•Maintain records and practice policies
•Handle patient concerns and practice marketing
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience)
•3-5 years of practice or healthcare administration
•Knowledge of EHR/EMR and medical terminology
•Familiarity with healthcare regulations
•Strong leadership and organizational skills
•Optional: CMPE, CPPM, CMM, or CMOM certification
COMPLIANCE NOTE (read before posting)
In a small practice, the Practice Manager often serves as the HIPAA Privacy
and Security Officer, runs HIPAA and OSHA training, and manages Business
Associate Agreements. Classify this role carefully: it is usually exempt,
but confirm by actual duties and pay. This is general information, not legal
advice.
EEO STATEMENT
[Practice Name] is an equal opportunity employer. Reasonable accommodations
are available for the essential functions of this role.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $______ per year [+ benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Template 2: Practice Manager (Small Practice, No HR)
The flagship version for an independent practice without a dedicated HR function, where the manager also owns HR and compliance, including HIPAA officer duties.
Practice Manager Job Description (Small Practice, No HR)
PRACTICE MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION (SMALL PRACTICE, NO HR DEPARTMENT)
Practice: __ ([City, State])
Reports to: [Owner / Physician Partners]
Employment type: Full-time, W-2
FLSA status: Exempt (executive or administrative; confirm by duties and pay)
Compensation: $______ per year [+ benefits]
ABOUT THIS ROLE
[Practice Name] is an independent practice in [City, State] with [number]
providers and [number] total staff. We do not have a dedicated HR
department, so the Practice Manager owns operations, HR, and compliance for
the practice.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Practice Manager runs the practice end to end: operations, staff,
finances, and compliance. Because we are a small independent practice, this
role also owns the HR and compliance functions a larger organization would
hand to a separate department.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
•Run daily operations of the practice
•Own hiring, onboarding, and staff management
•Manage budgets, payroll, and billing
•Serve as HIPAA Privacy and Security Officer
•Run HIPAA and OSHA training for all staff
•Manage Business Associate Agreements and policies
•Track which employment-law thresholds apply as the practice grows
•Oversee scheduling, records, and patient concerns
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
•Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience)
•3-5 years of practice or office management
•Knowledge of EHR/EMR and healthcare regulations
•Comfort owning HR and compliance in a small practice
•Strong leadership and organizational skills
•Optional: CMM (focused on small practices), CMPE, or CPPM
COMPLIANCE NOTE
This role carries the compliance load for a practice without HR: HIPAA
officer duties, OSHA, BAAs, and tracking employment-law thresholds (ADA and
Title VII at 15+, ADEA and COBRA at 20+, FMLA at 50+, WARN and EEO-1 at
100+). Classify the role by duties and pay; it is usually exempt. This is
general information, not legal advice.
COMPENSATION AND HOW TO APPLY
Compensation: $______ per year [+ benefits]
To apply, email __ with your resume.
Still Using Spreadsheets for Onboarding?
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This is the part the template farms skip, and for a practice manager it is the part that matters most, because in a small practice this role owns compliance. Four areas belong in your hiring decision.
FLSA classification of the manager
A practice manager is usually exempt from overtime, qualifying under the executive exemption (primary duty is managing, regularly directs two or more full-time staff, and has real input on hiring) or the administrative exemption. But the title alone does not make the role exempt: the position has to meet both the duties test and the salary threshold, which is $684 per week. Small practices often misclassify this role, so confirm it against actual duties and pay before you post.
HIPAA officer duties
In a practice with fewer than one hundred employees, HIPAA compliance normally falls to the practice manager, and the HIPAA rules require a covered entity to designate a Privacy Officer and a Security Officer, roles a small practice often combines in one person. The duties include running an annual security risk analysis, managing Business Associate Agreements with vendors, delivering annual HIPAA training, controlling access to protected health information, and handling any breach. Name these duties in the posting if the role includes them.
OSHA and workplace safety
Medical, dental, and veterinary settings carry OSHA obligations, including bloodborne-pathogen requirements, and the practice manager typically owns workplace-safety compliance and staff training. Spell out whether the role is responsible for OSHA training, safety documentation, and incident handling, since this is a real part of the job in a clinical setting that the generic templates leave out entirely.
Employment-law thresholds by size
Which employment laws apply depends on headcount, and a practice manager in a growing practice has to track the thresholds: ADA and Title VII apply at fifteen or more employees, ADEA and COBRA at twenty or more, FMLA at fifty or more within seventy-five miles, and WARN and EEO-1 reporting at one hundred or more, while equal-pay rules and OSHA apply to everyone. A practice crossing one of these lines as it grows picks up new obligations, and the manager is usually the one who has to know.
In a practice under one hundred employees, HIPAA compliance normally falls to the practice manager, who often serves as both Privacy and Security Officer. The role also covers OSHA, BAAs, and the thresholds that switch on with growth (ADA and Title VII at 15, FMLA at 50). Name these duties in the posting and classify the role by actual duties and pay. This is general information, not legal advice.
Requirements and Qualifications
This is an experienced operations role, not entry-level. Match the qualifications to your specialty and size, and treat certifications as a plus rather than a requirement, since no state licenses the role.
Requirement
What to know
Education
Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
Experience
3-5 years in practice or healthcare administration
Systems
EHR/EMR knowledge and healthcare regulations
Certifications
CMPE, CPPM, CMM, CMOM, or CVPM (all voluntary)
Compliance
HIPAA, OSHA, and FLSA awareness for the role
Classification
Usually exempt; confirm by duties and pay
Set the qualifications to the specialty and size. The O*NET profile for medical and health services managers lists common tasks, and the SHRM guide covers the standard sections of a job description.
How to Write a Practice Manager Job Description
A strong practice manager posting takes shape once you settle the specialty, the scope, and the compliance load. Here is the process the templates are built around.
1
Confirm meaning and specialty
In US healthcare, practice manager covers medical, dental, veterinary, and behavioral health. Confirm you need a practice manager, not an office manager, and pick the matching template.
2
List the real responsibilities
Operations, people, finance, and compliance, calibrated to your specialty and practice size.
3
Spell out qualifications
Bachelor's or equivalent experience, 3-5 years in practice administration, EHR knowledge, and any voluntary certification as a plus.
4
Name the compliance duties
In a small practice, be explicit that the role owns HIPAA officer duties, OSHA, BAAs, and tracking employment-law thresholds as the practice grows.
5
Classify and set pay
Practice managers are usually exempt; confirm by duties and pay. Benchmark compensation to healthcare-specific survey data, not blended figures.
Keep the posting neutral and inclusive, since the EEOC prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics.
Practice Manager Pay and Outlook
Practice manager pay varies by specialty, region, and practice size, and it is worth benchmarking to healthcare-specific data rather than blended figures that mix in higher-paid industries.
Pay and Demand (BLS)
The closest federal category, medical and health services managers, had a median wage of $117,960 in May 2024, with the highest tenth above $219,080. The category held about 616,200 jobs, with employment projected to grow 23% from 2024 to 2034, much faster than average (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
That federal category is broad and includes hospital and system administrators, so the median sits above what a small-practice manager typically earns. For the specific title in a small or mid-size practice, private compensation surveys generally report figures in the high five figures to low six figures depending on specialty and region, with physician-practice managers toward the higher end. General practice-manager salary data that mixes in consulting and IT roles overstates healthcare pay, so for a medical, dental, veterinary, or behavioral health practice, benchmark to healthcare-specific and regional survey data. For a posting, describe the pay clearly, include a good-faith range where your state requires it, and set the level against your practice size and specialty. National compensation surveys are the right reference for specialty-specific detail.
Hiring a Practice Manager
A hospital or large group hires a practice administrator through an HR department. A small independent practice hires a practice manager directly, where the owner runs the search, usually without a dedicated HR function, and the person hired often takes on that HR work. Here is what actually matters.
In US search, practice manager means medical, and the practice is usually a small business
When someone searches for a practice manager job description, they almost always mean a healthcare practice manager, the person who runs the business side of a medical, dental, veterinary, or behavioral health practice. That is worth knowing because it tells you who the role is for. A solo provider usually gets by with an office manager, and a large hospital system uses titles like practice administrator or clinical manager with a full HR department behind them. The practice manager sits in the middle, and that middle is mostly small business: a group of two to ten providers plus support staff, which lands squarely in the five-to-fifty-employee range. These independent practices are the ones that actually hire a dedicated practice manager, and they are also the ones running the hire themselves, without an HR department. Write the posting for your specific setting and specialty, and recognize that the person you hire will likely own not just operations but the HR and compliance work too.
The same word covers several specialties, and each has its own wrinkles
Practice manager is one role across healthcare, but the specialty changes the details enough that the posting should match. A medical practice manager handles physician-office billing and insurance and broad HIPAA and OSHA duties. A dental practice manager deals with dental insurance and recall systems and dental-specific OSHA and bloodborne-pathogen requirements. A veterinary practice manager leans into client service, inventory, and workplace safety, and the field has its own certification, the CVPM. A behavioral health practice manager works with heightened privacy expectations around mental health records. There are practice-management certifications worth knowing as you screen candidates, all of them voluntary since no state licenses the role: CMPE from the practice-management profession, CPPM for physician practices, CMM aimed specifically at small practices, CMOM for office management, and CVPM for veterinary. Name the specialty in the posting and use the matching template, and treat any certification as a plus rather than a requirement, since experience matters more.
The real differentiator is compliance, and in a small practice the manager owns it
The part almost every generic template skips is also the part that matters most in a small practice: this role owns compliance, because there is no one else to own it. Start with the manager's own FLSA classification, which is usually exempt under the executive or administrative exemption but has to meet both the duties test and the salary threshold rather than resting on the title. Then there is HIPAA: in a practice under one hundred employees, compliance normally falls to the practice manager, who often serves as both the Privacy Officer and the Security Officer, runs the annual risk analysis and staff training, and manages Business Associate Agreements. Add OSHA and bloodborne-pathogen requirements for clinical settings, and the employment-law thresholds that switch on as the practice grows, ADA and Title VII at fifteen employees, FMLA at fifty, and so on. A posting that names these responsibilities describes the job honestly and attracts candidates who can actually do it. This is general information, not legal advice.
After You Hire: Onboarding
The job description is step one, and a practice manager takes on real operational and compliance responsibility quickly, so the onboarding should be structured. Start with the employment basics: get the offer or employment agreement signed with the compensation structure and the exempt status, complete Form I-9 within the first days along with the rest of the new hire paperwork, and gather tax forms.
Then orient the new manager to the parts of the role that carry the most risk if missed: the practice's HIPAA posture, including who holds Privacy and Security Officer duties and where Business Associate Agreements and policies live, the OSHA and safety requirements for your setting, the billing and EHR systems, and the staff they will manage. If the manager is taking over HR and compliance for a practice without a dedicated HR department, hand over the existing documentation and a clear picture of which employment-law thresholds currently apply, and store the signed onboarding documents centrally, the kind of structured start the employee onboarding guide describes.
A documented, repeatable onboarding process matters here, because the practice manager will use that same process to onboard the rest of the staff. FirstHR supports it directly: e-signature for the offer letter, an onboarding wizard and task workflows so each step is tracked, training modules for HIPAA and OSHA, document management to store Business Associate Agreements, policies, and credentials, and a simple HRIS with an org chart and employee database as the practice grows. Because pricing is flat rather than per seat, a small practice pays one rate as it adds staff. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with a payroll provider. Applicant tracking is coming soon to FirstHR.
Key Takeaways
In US search, practice manager means a healthcare practice manager running a medical, dental, veterinary, or behavioral health practice.
Confirm scope before writing: an office manager runs the front office, a practice manager runs the whole business side, and a practice administrator is the senior version.
The role spans operations, people, finance, and compliance, and in a small practice the manager often owns HR and compliance too.
In a practice under 100 employees, the manager usually serves as HIPAA Privacy and Security Officer, runs training, and manages BAAs.
Practice managers are usually FLSA exempt, but confirm by actual duties and the $684/week salary threshold, not the title.
The BLS category (medical and health services managers) had a median wage of $117,960 (May 2024) and is growing 23% through 2034.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a practice manager do?
A practice manager runs the business side of a healthcare practice so that providers can focus on patient care. The duties cluster into four areas: operations, including running daily operations, overseeing scheduling and office flow, and managing records and policies; people, including hiring, training, and supervising staff and handling onboarding; finance, including overseeing budgets and payroll, managing billing and insurance claims, and tracking financial performance; and compliance, including ensuring HIPAA and OSHA compliance, serving as the HIPAA officer in small practices, and managing Business Associate Agreements and training. In US search, practice manager almost always means a healthcare practice manager, running a medical, dental, veterinary, or behavioral health practice. The exact mix shifts by specialty and practice size, but the core is the same: the practice manager is the operational leader who keeps the business running. In a small independent practice, the role usually expands to cover HR and compliance functions a larger organization would assign to a separate department. This page includes a template for the main specialties plus a small-practice version.
What is the difference between an office manager and a practice manager?
An office manager and a practice manager overlap, but they sit at different scopes, and getting the distinction right helps you write the correct posting. An office manager focuses on the front office and administrative side: scheduling, reception, records, and day-to-day support, typically in a solo or very small practice. A practice manager runs the whole business side of the practice, including staff management, finances, billing, compliance, and operations, and is usually hired once a practice grows to a group of providers with a support team. There are two related titles worth knowing. A practice administrator is a more senior version of the role, used at larger groups with broader strategic and financial responsibility. A clinical manager focuses on the clinical side, supervising clinical staff and care delivery, often in a hospital or larger system, which is a different focus from the business-operations role of a practice manager. As a rough rule, a solo provider hires an office manager, a small-to-mid group hires a practice manager, and a large system uses practice administrator or clinical manager titles with a full HR department behind them. Use the title that matches the scope you actually need.
Is a practice manager exempt or non-exempt from overtime?
A practice manager is usually exempt from overtime, but the classification has to be earned by the role rather than assumed from the title. Most practice managers qualify under the FLSA executive exemption, where the primary duty is managing the practice, the manager regularly directs two or more full-time employees, and has genuine input into hiring and firing, or under the administrative exemption, which covers office work directly related to management or general business operations that involves discretion and independent judgment on significant matters. To be exempt, the role must satisfy both the relevant duties test and the salary threshold, which is $684 per week. The important caveat for small practices, which often get this wrong, is that calling someone a practice manager does not by itself make the role exempt. If the actual duties are mostly routine administrative work without real management authority, or if pay falls below the threshold, the role may be non-exempt and owed overtime. Classify by actual duties and pay, state the exempt status in the offer and employment agreement, and confirm any borderline case before you post. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm classification with a professional.
What are the HIPAA responsibilities of a practice manager?
In a small practice, the practice manager usually carries HIPAA compliance, because there is no separate compliance department to hand it to. The HIPAA rules require every covered entity to designate a Privacy Officer and a Security Officer, and in a practice under about one hundred employees these two roles are often combined in one person, frequently the practice manager. The core responsibilities include conducting an annual security risk analysis to identify gaps in how protected health information is handled, managing Business Associate Agreements with vendors that touch patient data, delivering annual HIPAA training to all staff, controlling who has access to protected health information, and responding to any incident or breach. Because behavioral health and other sensitive records carry heightened expectations, the role matters even more in those settings. If your posting expects the practice manager to own HIPAA, say so explicitly and list the specific duties, since this is a real and demanding part of the job that the generic templates leave out. Tools that handle staff training and securely store BAAs and policies make this part of the role far more manageable. This is general information, not legal advice.
Do small practices hire practice managers, and is FirstHR a fit?
Yes, small independent practices are exactly the businesses that hire dedicated practice managers, and they are a strong fit for a tool like FirstHR. A practice typically brings on a practice manager once it has a group of roughly two to ten providers plus support staff, which lands in the five-to-fifty-employee range that defines a small business, and the United States still has well over one hundred fifty thousand small independent practices despite ongoing consolidation into larger systems. These practices usually have no dedicated HR department, so the practice manager owns hiring, onboarding, and compliance directly, which is precisely where a flat-rate HR tool helps. FirstHR fits the workflow: e-signature for the offer letter, an onboarding wizard and task workflows for bringing on the manager and the rest of the staff, training modules for HIPAA and OSHA, document management to store Business Associate Agreements, policies, and credentials, an org chart and employee database as the practice grows, and a self-service portal. Because pricing is flat rather than per seat, a small practice pays one rate as it adds staff. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, so pair it with a payroll provider, and applicant tracking is coming soon.
How do I write a practice manager job description?
Start by confirming the meaning and specialty, since in US healthcare practice manager covers medical, dental, veterinary, and behavioral health settings, and pick the matching template. Decide whether you actually need a practice manager rather than an office manager, which is the narrower front-office role. Write an honest position summary and list the real responsibilities across operations, people, finance, and compliance, calibrated to your specialty and size. Spell out the qualifications: typically a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, three to five years in practice or healthcare administration, knowledge of EHR or EMR systems and healthcare regulations, and any voluntary certification such as CMPE, CPPM, CMM, CMOM, or CVPM as a plus rather than a requirement. State the reporting line and, in a small practice, be explicit that the role also owns HR and compliance, including HIPAA officer duties and OSHA. Classify the role, which is usually exempt, while confirming it meets the duties and salary tests rather than relying on the title. Set compensation from healthcare-specific survey data, since general practice-manager figures mix in higher-paid industries, and add an equal-opportunity statement. The templates on this page give you a starting structure for each specialty, with the compliance pieces built in.
How much does a practice manager make?
Practice manager pay varies by specialty, region, practice size, and experience, and it is worth using healthcare-specific benchmarks rather than blended figures. The closest federal occupation category is medical and health services managers, which had a median annual wage of $117,960 in May 2024, with the lowest tenth earning less than about $69,680 and the highest tenth more than about $219,080. That category is broad and includes hospital and system administrators, so the higher end reflects large-organization roles rather than a small-practice manager. For the specific title in a small or mid-size practice, private compensation surveys generally report figures below the broad median, often in the high five figures to low six figures depending on specialty and region, with physician-practice managers toward the higher end of that range. Note that general practice-manager salary data that mixes in consulting and IT roles tends to overstate healthcare pay, so for a medical, dental, veterinary, or behavioral health practice, benchmark to healthcare-specific and regional survey data. For a posting, describe the pay clearly, include a good-faith range where your state requires it, and set the level against your practice size and specialty rather than a national average.
What happens after I hire a practice manager?
Run a structured onboarding, because a practice manager takes on real operational and compliance responsibility quickly and needs to be set up properly from the start. Begin with the employment basics: get the offer or employment agreement signed with the compensation structure and the exempt status, complete Form I-9 in the first days, and gather tax forms. Then orient the new manager to the parts of the role that carry the most risk if they are missed: walk through the practice's HIPAA posture, including who holds Privacy and Security Officer duties and where Business Associate Agreements and policies live, the OSHA and safety requirements for your setting, the billing and EHR systems, and the staff they will manage. If the manager is taking over HR and compliance for a practice without a dedicated HR department, give them the existing documentation and a clear picture of which employment-law thresholds currently apply. Set up early check-ins so they ramp quickly. A documented, repeatable onboarding process matters here, because the practice manager will use that same process to onboard the rest of the staff. FirstHR supports it directly with e-signature for the offer, an onboarding wizard and task workflows, training modules for HIPAA and OSHA, document management for BAAs and policies, and a simple HRIS with an org chart. FirstHR does not run payroll or administer benefits, and applicant tracking is coming soon.
