On-call duty is part of practicing medicine. Patient needs don’t stop at 5 pm, so hospitals rely on night and weekend coverage to keep care moving. But unreasonable call expectations can contribute to burnout and, at times, compromise patient safety, and they have increasingly become a flashpoint in employment negotiations. I recently teamed up with […]
Navigating Call Pay in Medicine: Trends and Tips for Physicians Read More »
Introduction Many physicians join a medical practice expecting to become a partner after a few years. However, when private equity buys your practice before partnership, that promised path to ownership can vanish overnight. Physicians can face renegotiated contracts, reduced benefits, or lost partnership opportunities. Understanding the risks and protecting your interests before signing an employment
Private Equity Buys Your Practice Before Partnership: Risks for Physicians Read More »
Hospital misuse of benchmarks to cap physician salaries is rampant. They do this by putting provisions in physician employment agreements that prevent the physician from exceeding some percentile of a benchmark (such as those produced by the Medical Group Management Association, or MGMA). These provisions often cap compensation no matter how productive the physician is.
Hospital Misuse of Benchmarks to Cap Physician Salaries Read More »
Every year, around this time, benchmark reports from MGMA, Doximity, Medscape, and others provide a snapshot of physician compensation. They’re all helpful reference points, giving you a general sense of how physician salaries are changing on average each year. But while these numbers update once a year, physician compensation is a lot more dynamic, influenced
When it comes to Physician Salaries – the biggest differences are within your specialty Read More »
Understanding Fair Market Value for Locum Tenens Physicians Can Mean the Difference Between Fair Compensation and Being Undervalued Locum tenens physicians often face a unique challenge—unlike employed physicians, there are no universally accepted benchmarks for compensation. That’s why knowing how to determine the fair market value for locum tenens physicians is critical before you negotiate your
Navigating physician contract renegotiation is a critical aspect of ensuring that physicians are fairly compensated and have their needs adequately addressed. As the landscape of healthcare continues to evolve, physicians must take proactive steps to protect their interests and secure favorable terms in their contracts. This comprehensive guide aims to equip physicians with the essential
Navigating Physician Contract Renegotiation: A Comprehensive Guide Read More »
Physician employment agreements must safeguard against frivolous quality-based terminations
Safeguarding Against Frivolous Quality-Based Terminations of Physicians Read More »
Pennsylvania physician restrictive covenants have been somewhat limited by 2024 legislation. This Act applies to physicians, CRNAs, CRNPs, and physician assistants. These categories are all lumped together and termed “health care practitioners” in the Act. Although the Act refers to health care practitioners throughout, I have used the term “physicians” in this article, because that
New Law on Pennsylvania Physician Restrictive Covenants Read More »
Hospitlalists must be aware of the 3 biggest traps in hospitalist employment agreements. The First of the Biggest Traps in Hospitalist Employment Agreements One of the biggest traps in hospitalist employment agreements relates to provisions concerning working hours. Many hospitals have a “week on, week off” rotation. However, many hospitalist employment agreements do not include
3 Devastating Traps in Hospitalist Employment Agreements Read More »
Lately I have seen several physicians who want to terminate their employment before the term of their employment agreement ends where their agreement has no without-cause termination clause. Terminating physician employment outside of contractual provisions (i.e., where there is no contractual right to terminate) can lead to tricky negotiations. Physicians who want to leave but
I recently reviewed an agreement that involved paying physicians for resident supervision. I think this is a very encouraging sign, and am hopeful we can spread the news and make this a trend. A Hospital is Paying Physicians for Resident Supervision That is not a typo, I have reviewed an agreement recently called an “Individual
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I have been using MGMA data on physician compensation for many years now, and I generally like it. I have found that there are occasional apparent glitches in the data, but I still think that MGMA data on physician compensation is the gold standard. What I like about MGMA data on physician compensation It isn’t
MGMA Data on Physician Compensation Read More »
Negotiating HCA physician employment agreements is often seen by physicians as impossible, partly because the contract has an impressive form number in the upper left hand corner – which is often seen by physicians as a sign that the agreement cannot be changed. In fact, we have a great deal of experience in negotiating HCA
HCA Physician Employment Agreements are not Carved in Stone Read More »
Physicians too frequently commit the worst mistakes in physician contract negotiation. In my 40 years of reviewing physician employment agreements I have seen these mistakes repeatedly. Read on to learn what these errors are, and how to avoid them. Here, in no particular order, are the worst mistakes in physician contract negotiation: Not treating a
Physician Contract Negotiation: The 6 Worst Mistakes Read More »
How are Pennsylvania Physician Contract Reviews Different? Pennsylvania physician contract reviews are different from reviews in other states because of the (somewhat unusual based on my dealing with employers in many other states) balkanization of several large hospital systems. I assume this balkanization is the result of the acquisition of various smaller health systems by
Pennsylvania Physician Contract Reviews Read More »
After purchasing the physician contract review, you will receive an email asking you to transmit the agreement and any concerns you have to me. Many physicians do this by email, but I will be available by phone, too. In three business days from the time you purchase the Physician Prosperity Program® and transmit the draft physician employment agreement along with any concerns you have about the agreement and the information I will need to perform the MGMA analysis, you will receive a detailed physician contract review letter from me.
After you receive my physician contract review letter, you will have the opportunity to discuss it with me, to make sure all of your concerns were met, and to correct any factual inaccuracies, or to point out things that were verbally promised but didn’t make it into the physician employment agreement. These discussions, and revisions of the letter following these discussions, are included in the initial fixed fee.
Once you are completely comfortable with the physician contract review letter, you transmit the letter to your potential employer.
