| | Restrictive Covenants/Non-Competes
Some contracts will contain restrictive covenants or non-compete clauses. These clauses oblige new physicians to agree that they will not go to work for specific competitors during a given period of time. Therefore, if a physician leaves a group's or a hospital's employ, he or she has committed not to practice within a 10-, 20- or 30-mile radius of the employer for a certain number of years—typically two years. This acts as a barrier to physicians taking patients with them to a new practice.
These clauses are not legal in some states that prohibit non-compete clauses. They are legal in other states as long as they are deemed to be "reasonable." As a general rule, a neurosurgeon will be subject to a much wider geographic restriction than a family practitioner. The more specialized the practice—and hence the larger patient population needed to support the practice—the larger the geographic restriction will be.
It is usually a good idea to have an attorney versed in healthcare law review your contract, while paying special attention to any non-compete clause.
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