Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/869747
BY STEVE BARRETT RIGOROUSLY VE T TING AN EMPLOYMENT CONTR ACT CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN PHYSICIAN COMPENSATION AND QUALIT Y OF LIFE, E XPERTS RECENTLY TOLD MEDSCAPE. DIGGING IN to Employment Contracts AN OFTEN•MISSED FE ATURE of con- tracts is that perks such as relocation compen sat ion a nd si g n i n g bonu ses must be repa id if t he physicia n does not r em a i n on t he job a m i n i mu m period of time, says Dennis Hursh, Esq., Ma na g ing Pa r tner of Pennsylva nia- ba s e d Hu r s h a nd Hu r s h P C, wh ich represents physicia ns. Providers may even have to repay recr uitment fees, he adds, urg ing physicia ns to negoti- ate terms that let them repay prorated a mounts based on how long they stay. It 's a lso wise for a physicia n to think twice about signing the contract if he or she may not wa nt to be at a pa r ticula r fa ci l it y ver y lon g , say s Jon Appi no, founder of Kansas City-based Contract Diag nostics, which reviews physicia n employment ag reements. A nd contract s t hat tie compensa- t ion t o pr o duc t iv it y s hou ld en s u re physicians' right to review records with which determinations of productivit y a re made. Hursh reca lls a client whose pay was reduced a f ter he did not meet a quota. The client had to request access to t he releva nt records because t hat right was not spelled out in his contract. He d id ga i n a ccess, a nd t he records showed a majorit y of his patients had not been documented in the system. Physicians should a lso verify whether t hei r c ont r a c t a l low s a he a lt hc a r e system to assign them to any of its facili- ties, Appino says. The a lternative ca n be a long and unanticipated commute. ■ CORE Gregory L. Barth, M. D. Micah A. Berman, M. D. Merrill A. Biel, M. D., Ph.D. Thomas E. Christenson, M. D. Karin E. Evan, M. D. William J. Garvis, M. D. Matthew S. Griebie, M. D. Michael B. Johnson, M. D. Nissim Khabie, M. D. Jeffrey C. Manlove, M. D. Darren R. McDonald, M. D. Michael P. Murphy, M. D. Michelle C. Naylor, M. D. llya Perepelitsyn, M. D. Julie C. Reddan, M. D. Benhoor Soumekh, M. D. Jon V. Thomas, M. D. Larry A. Zieske, M. D. Ear, Nose & Throat SpecialtyCare takes pleasure in announcing Nathan D. Johnson, M.D. In the practice of: Otolaryngology — Facial Plastic Surgery AND Nathan M. Schularick, M.D. In the practice of: Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery Minneapolis • St. Paul • Burnsville • Coon Rapids Edina • Fridley • Maple Grove • Plymouth Administrative Office: 2211 Park Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404 612-871-1144 • www.entsc.com M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S M I N N E S O TA ■ 2 017 P R A C T I C E M A N A G E M E N T 1 5