039 - Attorney Drops Truth Bombs about Physician Employment Contracts

Attorney and author Dennis Hursh helps physicians navigate their employment contracts. He describes his shock early on in his career when he saw the lopsided language in the contracts offered to his highly trained physician clients. He points out that no hospital executive would ever agree to such contractual language for themselves.<br />A sampling of items Mr. Hursh considers “insane”:<br /><br />- 24 hour call shifts (and by the way, you will work the next day, too)<br />- The employer will decide if you’re disabled and has the right to terminate you if you can’t do the job<br />- No paycheck for you if you can’t navigate their complex credentialing process by your start date AND they reserve the right to terminate you if you aren’t fully credentialed by your start date<br />- Punitive non-compete clauses (a.k.a., restrictive covenants) that wreak professional and personal havoc rather than simply limit the loss of patients who might follow you when you leave<br />- “Brutal” provisions in the contract that the administration promises they won’t enforce (but nonetheless they won’t remove the language)<br />- Low starting pay with a promise (but no contractual language) of partnership to come<br />- “Integration” documents that provide explanations and promises related to the formal contract (but alas, they are not enforceable unless they are in the formal contract)<br /><br />In this episode, Mr. Hursh exposes the risks lurking in several areas typically included in physician employment contracts (beware if these points are not explicitly addressed!):<br /><br />CREDENTIALING: Flexibility can be built into the contract to allow a physician to begin a narrower scope of work if certain hospital credentials or other privileges are still delayed at the start date.<br /><br />RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS (noncompete clauses): This refers to contractual language that prohibits a departing physician from practicing within a specified distance of the former employer for some period of time. Mr. Hursh draws attention to sever