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I've noticed quite a few soon-to-be fellows interviewing for jobs already. I wanted to see what some common pitfalls were with regards to contract negotiations.
algosdoc said:It depends on the prevailing state law, the reasonableness of the geographic restriction, and the timeframe. Unfortunately these are not "your patients" but are patients of the corporation. The non-compete clauses are generally invalidated if they have excessive restrictions (eg. 100 mile radius, 5 year limitation, etc) but in many jurisdictions they are legal if there is a smaller radius of say 25 miles and 1 year limitation. But much depends on the language used so a local atty would be a good idea.
The non-solicitation clauses are almost universally enforceable in every state since they do not prevent the physician from continuing practicing in the area. They are designed to restrict the physician from engaging in predatory market practices based on "trade secrets", ie. the corporate patient list. The physician cannot in anyway solicit prior patients via any advertising media. They can advertise openly but cannot say for instance "prior patients welcome" or cannot send cards or letters specifically to prior patients telling them of the new practice. The physician can send out blanket postcards to the entire community announcing the new practice as long as it is not a selected mailing to the prior patients.