# Practice Affiliation Detector (`signalserver/practice-affiliation-detector`) Actor

- **URL**: https://apify.com/signalserver/practice-affiliation-detector.md
- **Developed by:** [Joep van Acht](https://apify.com/signalserver) (community)
- **Categories:**
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $500.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Healthcare Practice Affiliation + Stack Detector

### What you are looking at

Once a practice signs with a DSO or MSO it stops being a target. Nothing tracks that.

### Why it costs you

So acquisition teams work lists where a slice of the rows were affiliated months ago and find out on the call, and vendors selling into independents waste the same calls from the other side. In a consolidating specialty that slice grows every quarter.

### What this actor does

Point this actor at practice websites. It reads affiliation off the practice's own pages (a parent named in the copyright line, a corporate careers link, one of 120+ known consolidators across dental, vet, vision, dermatology, physical therapy and multi-specialty), and returns provider count, location count and the practice-management system. A free, keyless NPPES lookup is included to cross-check against the federal provider registry.

### Start here

Run it on one specialty in one state. Every row that comes back independent with a provider count is a scored origination target.

### Output fields

- `vertical_relevance`
- `practice_verdict`
- `company`
- `website`
- `final_url`
- `affiliation_status`
- `parent_group`
- `affiliation_evidence`
- `independence_claim`
- `provider_count`
- `location_count`
- `top_detection`
- `vendor`
- `confidence`
- `evidence`
- `all_detections`
- `categories`
- `pages_crawled`
- `status`

### Measured accuracy

88 to 97% of qualified practices return an actionable verdict. Provider count fills 74-89%. Affiliation is only ever asserted when the parent is named on the practice's own pages; 'likely independent' is an absence-of-evidence finding and is labelled as such on purpose.

### Deploy

```bash
APIFY_PUSH_TOKEN=$APIFY_TOKEN_PERSONAL python3 push_to_apify.py
```

SDK-free by design: plain Apify REST via run env vars. Do not reintroduce the apify/crawlee SDK without pinning every transitive dependency.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

Websites to scan. Paste URLs, use Bulk edit for a list, upload a file, or link a Google Sheet.

## `maxSubpages` (type: `integer`):

How many same-site pages to crawl beyond the homepage.

## `concurrency` (type: `integer`):

Sites scanned in parallel.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optionally route through Apify Proxy (helps with IP-blocked hosts).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://bgdentistry.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://libertycommonsfamilydental.com"
    }
  ],
  "maxSubpages": 5,
  "concurrency": 10,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Determines whether a medical, dental, veterinary, optometry or therapy practice is still INDEPENDENT or already owned by a DSO/MSO/PE platform, names the parent group where one exists, and returns provider count, location count and the practice-management system (Dentrix, Open Dental, Eaglesoft, Curve, Denticon, ezyVet, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, ModMed, WebPT). Built for roll-up acquisition origination and for vendors selling into independent practices.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "startUrls": [
        {
            "url": "https://bgdentistry.com"
        },
        {
            "url": "https://libertycommonsfamilydental.com"
        }
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("signalserver/practice-affiliation-detector").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "startUrls": [
        { "url": "https://bgdentistry.com" },
        { "url": "https://libertycommonsfamilydental.com" },
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("signalserver/practice-affiliation-detector").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://bgdentistry.com"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://libertycommonsfamilydental.com"
    }
  ]
}' |
apify call signalserver/practice-affiliation-detector --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,signalserver/practice-affiliation-detector"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/nOMXv9VxjMxVVU7Pi/builds/XsL7aPxZuNN34zJ3H/openapi.json