Prohibition of poaching. A physician cannot ask patients or staff to join him or her in a new practice after leaving the employment relationship. Mr. Mayer gives an example of cases where “at the discretion of the practice” could have a serious effect on lifestyle: unspecified places of practice. If organizations merge and/or add satellite facilities, a vague location clause could mean that doctors will have to travel to or from four different clinics or hospitals. Mayer suggests that doctors ask potential employers to specify locations and contractually limit their number, or at least give the doctor the opportunity to decide whether he is willing to increase the number. Ditto for debtors` money to which doctors might be entitled. It is very common for such funds to flow into the office several months after a doctor leaves, so ideally Mr. Schaff suggested that the contract provide for the declaration of these funds for a certain period of time after termination and eventually pay them, which is due, for example, 60, 90 or even 180 days after termination of employment. “It`s all over the map in contracts that I`ve seen,” Schaff said.
“I`ve even seen contracts saying that the doctor only receives payments until the last day of employment. This is something that should be negotiated. After all, negotiating an employment contract is the beginning of a relationship that requires the employer and employee to be in good faith for it to be successful. If the parties cannot negotiate amicably, at a time when each party should expect a productive relationship with the other, how will they interact with each other when inevitable challenges arise? As such, and perhaps more than in many other types of negotiations, lawyers and other consultants would do well to stay in the background of negotiations as much as possible and to promote and exemplify professionalism and reason in their dealings with the other party. When a physician leaves a practice, they usually want to inform patients of their departure and their new contact information in the hope of maintaining doctor-patient relationships. Practice, on the other hand, generally wants to limit the information provided to “their” patients to encourage them to seek treatment from another doctor associated with the practice. Therefore, it is useful to specify in a doctor`s employment contract whether the doctor or the practice or both must or can inform patients when the doctor leaves the office. It is also useful to define the universe of patients who need to be informed (for example. B all patients whom the doctor has seen in the previous year), to indicate the means by which the communication is to be delivered (para.
B by direct mail, by public announcement in a newspaper, etc.), generally indicate the information that the communication will contain and to specify, who is responsible for the costs associated with the notification. Often, an agreement states that the practice is responsible for these matters, although in some cases the doctor and the practice agree to cooperate in terms of the form and content of the communication. The emergency physician failed to diagnose a patient`s condition, causing significant injuries to the patient. The patient filed a lawsuit against the emergency physician, the group and the hospital. Contractual wording that is vague and very user-friendly for the employer. Such language can appear in any area of the contract, but it is particularly problematic when it comes to medical plans and obligations, according to Gwilt. “They want to be wary of anything that says, `X is determined by practice at its own discretion,`” she said. This leaves the doctor open to anything the employer decides at any time during the term of the contract. At the very least, physicians should negotiate to add that the terms are “fair and reasonable and consistent with [requirements] for everyone and colleagues alike.” If a patient files medical malpractice against a physician and asserts vicarious liability against the group of physicians, and the physician has signed a contract in which he or she agrees to indemnify the group, the physician may have agreed to pay the class`s legal fees, court costs, judgment or settlement.1, 2 In conclusion, all sources have stressed, how important it is for doctors to read every word of the contract and get expert opinion. .
