Little Health Law Blog
All good things must end. Every employment relationship will end sooner or later, one way or the other. While it is obviously important that parties to an agreement convey on the front end of the relationship positive feelings, the exit strategy should never be disregarded in one’s planning or evaluation of contractual terms. Life happens. Things can change one’s desire or ability to be in a deal, a contract, or an employment relationship. Therefore, while perhaps it may feel counterintuitive to dwell on how to end a relationship just as you are forming it, the termination provisions are very important and, sometimes, critical.
Georgia Medical Practice Lawyers
Most physician employment agreements will articulate a specific term, typically one to five years. Often a physician employment agreement will contain an auto-renewal provision so that, following expiration of the initial term, the relationship is continued from year to year automatically absent timely advance notice of non-renewal by employer or employee. From the medical practice’s standpoint, the right objective is usually to incent longevity and continuity of the relationship with the physician, while preserving a way out of the relationship if needed. Physicians, on the other hand, usually desire stability and sometimes a feeling that employment is “guaranteed” absent real cause to terminate the relationship. In the typical written physician employment agreement, how the agreement will end is determined by term and termination provisions.
Virtually every week, our business and healthcare law firm is engaged to provide advice and assistance concerning a physician employment agreement, either as counsel to the physician or for an employer/hospital or medical practice. “Restrictive covenants,” including non-competition agreements, are desired by the majority of employers and therefore included in their proposed form of employment agreement. Physicians most often prefer, however, if they had their druthers, not to be restricted in their ability to work following the expiration or termination of a job. Hence this section of the proposed employment agreement, particularly those with more broad and onerous non-compete provisions, can be the source of tension on the front end of the employment relationship. Restrictive covenants also show up in a variety of other contractual arrangements, including medical practice ownership agreements (e.g., shareholder agreements, operating agreements), joint venture contracts, and medical director agreements.
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Georgia physicians seeking licensure in other states hope to benefit soon from a more streamlined process. In fact, a bill was recently introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives to allow Georgia to join the growing number of states participating in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. (
The United States only holds about 5% of the world’s population 
Traditionally a hallmark of success for many physicians, physician ownership of medical practices continues to decline, for now, according to a recent study by the American Medical Association (AMA). The AMA recently issued the results of a 
Prescribing opioids for pain can be a routine part of medical treatment, however, opioids are a national dilemma and though patients may need them for pain management, they are also highly addictive. Some patients being administered these prescriptions are recovering from opioid addictions and face a high-risk of relapse. And, because some more unscrupulous health care providers use “pill mills” to make money, there is a strong push in many states to protect patients. This push has brought about a new idea – patient directives that notify providers NOT to prescribe or administer opioids to them.
On January 19, 2017, the 
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