Business News

Physician Contracting 101 – Rickard & Associates

 

Physician contracts are often complicated and have unique terms. We help our clients understand the terms and negotiate their contracts.

We can help you stay on top of the latest news that affects your everyday life. Subscribe to stay up to date. (To subscribe to our blog ).

Many of our clients are physicians who are negotiating or renegotiating their employment contracts with their employers. Sometimes these are with health systems, hospitals, or small physician offices.

We also have clients come to us with issues after they negotiated their own contracts.

Physician contracts are unique, as they have standard employment terms, healthcare terms, and a variety of terms from the employer related to the employer, the specialty, productivity and more.

When reviewing your physician contract, make sure that you fully understand the following:

  1. Termination provisions. How can your employer terminate your agreement and how much notice are you entitled to? 90 days? more? It is essential that you know how you can be terminated and what other provisions are then invoked. If you are terminated, does that trigger repayment or non-compete provisions? Make sure you fully understand all potential consequences of termination.
  2. Breach provisions. Some physician contracts spell out a variety of breach remedies that are in addition to the remedies under the law. We have seen some extreme remedies, such as specific performance and paying liquidated damages. It is essential that you know of any potential remedies that they have.
  3. Repayment provisions. Upon expiration or termination of the agreement, are you required to repay anything? Sometimes there are requirements to repay moving bonuses, signing bonuses, etc. This could be a large amount that is due very quickly. Make sure that you know and plan for any potential repayments.
  4. Non-compete provisions. We always caution physicians against entering into agreements with non-compete provisions. While this isn’t always possible, non-compete provisions can impact your ability to work in the future. You need to know what triggers a non-compete, if there is anything you can do to work around the non-compete, and how broad the non-compete is.
  5. Compensation provisions. Compensation is often the most important provision for our clients. However, these sections are often muddled and confusing. Sometimes contracts are even silent as to how compensation will be determined in future years of the contract. Other physician contracts have productivity based compensation, which can be concerning as it leaves a lot of discretion to the employer. We recommend getting a guaranteed compensation amount for as long as possible, depending on your circumstances.

And more.

We have seen a trend of physician contracts becoming more and more complex and burdensome on the physicians.

It is essential that you negotiate your contract fully before you start work and that you fully understand your agreement.

We recommend working with an experienced healthcare attorney so that you do not tarnish your relationship with the employer and so that you are made aware of any potential pitfalls.

If you need help reviewing or negotiating your physician agreement, we can help. Contact Rickard & Associates today.

We know you’re busy. Subscribe to our blog to get updates and news sent directly to your inbox!

We publish vital information on health law topics and news every Wednesday and Friday. To get this important information delivered directly to your mailbox, subscribe today!

Do you need help updating your Business Associate Agreement or negotiating contracts with third-party vendors? We can help. To contact us about your Business Associate Agreement, your vendor contracts or your other legal needs, call us today.

Recommended Posts

How to Effectively Impact Real Estate through Philanthropy

Indonesia Real Estate Properties For Sale In Indonesia Located on the tip of Marblehead Neck, this Massachusetts mansion comes with panoramic ocean views of Boston with personal steps main immediately into the ocean. Built in 1999, the 4 story estate has an elevator, a library, and a wet bar in the principle property. The 7,138 […]

akit 

Understanding the Basics of Cybersecurity for Individuals

100+ Technology Pictures Hq Obtain Free Pictures & Inventory Pictures On Unsplash “Frankenstein” serves as a cautionary story, exploring the risks of unchecked ambition and the potential for scientific innovation to go awry. “I, Robot” by Isaac Asimov is a seminal science fiction assortment of quick tales that explores the relationship between humans and robots. […]

akit 

The Future of Renewable Energy Technology

Bbc Innovation Technology, Well Being, Environment, Ai Explore the pros and cons of cloud computing for companies, including price financial savings and scalability in Netflix’s streaming service. Look at how machine studying is making predictive analytics better in areas like finance and healthcare. Explore how 3D printing creates custom-made implants, prosthetics, and drugs Technology news […]

akit