Three professionals, three jobs
You do not need all of them permanently. You do need each one at least once.
Healthcare attorney
For entity formation in a CPOM state, contract review, restrictive covenants, and anything involving a medical board. A general business attorney is not a substitute: CPOM, Stark, and licensure interact in ways only healthcare counsel tracks.
Ask: How many physician entities have you formed in this state? Will you review locum contracts on a flat fee? Who handles a board inquiry if one arrives?
CPA with 1099 physician clients
For the S corp election, reasonable salary documentation, quarterly estimates, multi-state apportionment, and retirement plan design. Locum physicians file in every state they work; this is where a generalist preparer gets expensive.
Ask: How many locum or 1099 physicians do you serve? Do you handle multi-state returns in house? Will you set reasonable salary against survey data and document it?
Independent insurance broker
For disability, malpractice gaps and tail, and health coverage. Independent means paid to compare carriers, not to sell one.
Ask: Which carriers do you represent? Is this own-occupation, specialty-specific disability? Can you price tail coverage for my specialty and state?
What this costs, roughly
Expect a one-time formation and contract review engagement, an annual tax engagement, and a no-fee brokered insurance placement. Fixed fees are available and preferable to hourly for well-defined work.
What to bring to the first meeting
Your CV, your current or draft locum contracts, last year's return, your malpractice declarations page, and a written list of the states you expect to work in over the next two years.
Sources
No external source has been supplied for this guide. Figures are described in plain language rather than stated as numbers until a citable source is published here. Verify anything decision-critical against the primary authority named in the text.