Re: Buying in to practices. (excessively long emotional response)
From: art fougner, md (evsono@pipeline.com)
Thu Jun 29 09:54:47 2000
iMHO - restrictive covenants are not the biggest threat to the survival
of the private practitioner - the health insurance industry has got em
beat by light years.
art
At Thu, 29 Jun 2000, Kleinman, Dr. Gary E. wrote:
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>>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Braun, R. Daniel" <rbraun@iupui.edu>
>To: "Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L" <ob-gyn-l@mail.medispecialty.com>
>Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2000 8:05 AM
>Subject: Re: Buying in to practices. (excessively long emotional response)
>
>>This was after the school recruited them, and moved them half
>> way across the country. There is always 2 sides to the issue and there are
>> places where the employer has been hurt.
>>
>> Dan
>>
>* R. Daniel Braun, MD FACOG
>
>Thank you for helping to keep this thread alive until we can outlaw
>restrictive covenants in the medical profession.
>
>This is not an example where a restrictive covenant is necessary to prevent
>serious economic damage to a business. The teaching practice is primarily an
>educational business. The specialists going across town probably did nothing
>to hamper the educational ability of the medical school. In fact, they
>probably still take patients there and teach residents, nurses and
>students. If they moved, the school and community would lose this
>educational
>benefit.
>
>As per the recruiting and relocation costs, no matter where they moved (1
>flight up in the same building or to Siberia), the recruiting costs of
>replacing the specialists would still be there. If you want to keep
>recruiting costs down, don't use albatrosses such as a noncompete clause to
>restrain hired physicians. If the recruitment process is too expensive, a
>longevity bonus might help. For example: stay for 3 years and we cover tail
>insurance. Or: If you go into competition in the area served, you agree to
>liquidated damages equal to the cost of recruiting and relocation.
>
>Maybe the revenue of the school did suffer a bit. But the school is bigger
>than the individual and usually better able to weather a temporary loss.
>Often, a large portion of the patients of a medical school are indigent or
>state-funded patients. The schools usually have ready sources of referrals
>for these patients so that a new specialist would have no trouble
>reestablishing the academic practice even if the departing specialist took
>some patients. If (unreasonable )competition for patients did hurt the
>school, I doubt that it would be of sufficient magnitude to require the use
>of a contract clause which the AMA has called unethical, the legal
>profession has outlawed among its own and can be damaging to the
>practitioner, family, and possibly the community.
>
>Besides, if the school tried to be competitive, they would reap long term
>economic benefits
>benefits.
>
>Thank you for your interesting response.
>
>Gary Kleinman
>
>Come to think of it, Michael Johnson, the Olympic sprinter extraordinaire,
>could have won every race he ran if he limited his racing competition to
>owners of medical practices. I think he would have every right to do so.
>
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>Re: Buying in to practices. (excessively long emotional response)
>
>>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Braun, R. Daniel" <rbraun@iupui.edu>
>To: "Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L" <ob-gyn-l@mail.medispecialty.com>
>Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2000 8:05 AM
>Subject: RE: Buying in to practices. (excessively long emotional response)
>
>>This was after the school recruited them, and moved them half
>> way across the country. There is always 2 sides to the issue and there are
>> places where the employer has been hurt.
>>
>> Dan
>>
>R. Daniel Braun, MD FACOG
>
>Thank you for helping to keep this thread alive until we can outlaw
>restrictive covenants in the medical profession.
>
>This is not an example where a restrictive covenant is necessary to prevent
>serious economic damage to a business. The teaching practice is primarily an
>educational business. The specialists going across town probably did nothing
>to hamper the educational ability of the medical school. In fact, they
>probably still take patients there and teach residents, nurses and
>students. If they moved, the school and community would lose this educational
>benefit.
>
>As per the recruiting and relocation costs, no matter where they moved (1
>flight up in the same building or to Siberia), the recruiting costs of
>replacing the specialists would still be there. If you want to keep
>recruiting costs down, don't use albatrosses such as a noncompete clause to
>restrain hired physicians. If the recruitment process is too expensive, a
>longevity bonus might help. For example: stay for 3 years and we cover tail
>insurance. Or: If you go into competition in the area served, you agree to
>liquidated damages equal to the cost of recruiting and relocation.
>
>Maybe the revenue of the school did suffer a bit. But the school is bigger
>than the individual and usually better able to weather a temporary loss.
>Often, a large portion of the patients of a medical school are indigent or
>state-funded patients. The schools usually have ready sources of referrals
>for these patients so that a new specialist would have no trouble
>reestablishing the academic practice even if the departing specialist took
>some patients. If (unreasonable )competition for patients did hurt the school, I doubt that it would be of sufficient magnitude to require the use of a contract clause which the AMA has called unethical, the legal profession has outlawed among its own and can be damaging to the practitioner, family, and possibly the community.
>
>Besides, if the school tried to be competitive, they would reap long term economic benefits
>benefits.
>
>Thank you for your interesting response.
>
>Gary Kleinman
>
>Come to think of it, Michael Johnson, the Olympic sprinter extraordinaire, could have won every race he ran if he limited his racing competition to owners of medical practices. I think he would have every right to do so.
>
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--
art fougner, md
A series of 1000 cases begins with but a single anecdote.
