General Contract Information

• Consider utilizing the services of a good healthcare attorney.
• Everything discussed in the interview should be included in the contract. No oral agreements or understandings.
• A basic employment contract should include: duties and obligations, credentials and privileges, terms and termination, compensation, insurances, fringe benefits, personal time off (PTO).
• The terms and conditions for future partnership should be included in the basic employment agreement.
• To expedite the contractual process, ask for a Letter of Intent which spells out the basic terms of the contract.
• Partnership terms to be included in the employment agreement: how assets will be valued, terms of payment and length of time to become a partner.
• The Termination clause should include “with cause” and “without cause” conditions. If possible, try to avoid “without cause” language.
• Any restrictive covenant should be reasonable in terms of the length of the time it is enforced and the distance one can practice from the existing offices.
• Preferable malpractice insurance coverage is an “occurrence” policy (which is the most expensive). “Claims-made” is the most common and generally requires the employed doctor to pay a “tail.”
• Fringe benefits generally include: malpractice, health insurance, medical society dues, paid vacation, Continuing Medical Education (CME) including costs of attending meetings, hospital staff fees. Optional benefits may include: automobile expenses, beeper, cell phone, pension/profit sharing, paying “tail coverage”, disability, school loan repayment and/or a signing bonus.
• Language should be present in the contract for resolving disputes, sometimes utilizing an arbitration service.
• Most terms and conditions are negotiable. It never hurts to ask, but be reasonable and be careful not to erode the goodwill which has developed between you and the hiring organization.