BY DR. DAVID E. MARCINKO MBA CMP®

SPONSOR: http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

SAMPLE NEW PHYSICIAN LETTER OF EMPLOYMENT INTENT

Dear Dr. [Name of Physician]

On behalf of [Name of medical practice or clinic] (hereinafter called the “practice”), this letter sets out a proposed agreement for your initial employment in Dr. [Name of physician]’s medical practice. After both you and Dr. [Name of physician] have agreed upon all issues related to your employment, a formal physician employment agreement will be prepared for your review and signature.

1.   Term: You will be an employee of the practice for an initial [Duration]-month period starting [Month, Date, Year]. Should you and the practice want to proceed past this initial employment period, an offer of co-ownership may be made to you as described in item nine below.

      Your employment with the practice will essentially be “at will,” since you or the practice may voluntarily terminate it at any time upon 30 days’ written notice to the other. However, the following are conditions under which the practice may terminate your em­ployment immediately: (a) upon your death or disability for three (3) consecutive months; (b) upon the suspension, revocation, or cancellation of your right to practice medicine in the State of [State]; (c) if you should lose privileges at any hospital at which the practice regularly maintains admission privileges; (d) should you fail or refuse to follow reasonable policies and directives es­tablished by the practice; (e) should you commit an act amounting to gross negligence or willful misconduct to the detriment of the practice or its patients; (f) if you are convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, including fraud, theft, or embezzlement; and (g) if you breach any of the terms of your employment contract.

2.   Compensation: Your salary for the initial 12-month period will be $[dollar value] and $[dollar value] in the second 12-month period, each year payable in monthly installments. You will also be enti­tled to an incentive bonus calculated as follows: [Percentage] % of your collected production when such collections exceeds $[dollar value] in the first year and $[dollar value] in the second year. The bonus each year will be calculated and paid on a semiannual basis. You will also be entitled to receive a one-time signing bonus of $[dollar value] if you sign your employment contract before [Month, Date, Year].

      A portion of your compensation may be paid for by proceeds received from [Name of hospital] under the terms and conditions of a hospital recruitment agreement. The parties to this agreement will be the hospital and the practice only. However, forgiveness of any advances made by the hospital will be directly contingent upon the length of time you remain with the practice. Therefore, should your employment terminate for any reason, the practice will re­quire you to repay to it any amounts the practice repays the hospi­tal, in no matter what form, per the terms and conditions in the hospital recruitment agreement. [Note: Use this if the practice signs a hospital recruitment agreement with the hospital.]

3.   Benefits: In addition to your base compensation and incentive bo­nus, the practice will pay for the following: (a) health insurance, (b) malpractice insurance, (c) continuing medical education (CME) costs, (d) medical license fee, (e) board certification exam fee, (f) reasonable cellular phone costs, and (g) a pager. You will also be entitled to a moving cost allowance for relocating to [Location.] You will be entitled to two weeks of paid vacation, 10 working days as paid sick leave, and four days paid time off for CME or the board certification exam.

4.   Disability Leave: In case of absence because of your illness or injury, your base salary will continue for a period not exceeding 30 days per calendar year, plus any unused vacation time and sick leave. You will be entitled to any incentive bonus payments that may be due to you as collections are received on your prior production. Absence in excess of 30 days would be without pay. Unused sick leave cannot be carried over to succeeding years, nor will it be paid for at any time.

5.   Exclusive Employment: As an employee, you will be involved full-time in the practice and you may not take any outside employ­ment during the term of your employment agreement without the practice’s written approval. However, you will be entitled to keep compensation from honorariums, royalties, and copyrights if ap­proved by the practice in writing. If the practice does not give approval, then the income from such activities shall remain the property of the practice.

6.   Termination Compensation:  Should your employment terminate for any reason, you will be entitled to accrued but unpaid base compensation, earned but unpaid incentive bonus, and unused va­cation leave.

7.   Non-Solicitation: During the course of your employment, the prac­tice will introduce and make available to you its contacts and refer­ring physician relationships, ongoing patient flow, general hospital sources, business and professional relationships, and the like. Since you have not been in private practice in the area previously, you acknowledge that you currently have no established patients following you. If there should be a termination, the practice will not restrict your ability to practice medicine in the area; however, it will require you to enter into a nonsolicitation agreement in which you agree not to solicit the employees of the practice nor its patients to follow you into your new medical practice. [Note: Insert Covenant Not to Compete here, if applicable.]

8.   Employee-Only Status: During the term of your employment, you will not be required to contribute any money toward the practice’s equipment or operations, but likewise your work will give you no financial interest in the assets of the practice. However, the prac­tice intends to offer you the opportunity to buy into the ownership of the practice as set forth in item 9 below.

9.   Ownership Opportunity: At the end of your employment period, the practice will evaluate your relationship and may offer you the opportunity to become a co-owner in the practice (or enter into an office-sharing relationship). This offer is not mandatory and is at the total discretion of the practice. Should an offer not be tendered for some reason, the practice will wait until the end of your next 12-month employment period to decide whether to tender an offer of co-ownership.        If an offer of co-ownership is made, Dr. [Name of physician] will discuss with you the following: (a) what percentage of the practice you will be allowed to acquire, (b) how best to value such interest, and (c) how you will pay for the acquisition of such interest. The practice hopes to achieve mutually agreeable solutions to these ownership issues.

We hope this offer meets with your approval. If so, please contact Dr. [Name of physician] as soon as possible. This letter is not intended to be a legally binding agreement; it is, rather, a tool to be used to prepare your formal physician employment agreement. If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself or Dr. [Name of physician] at your convenience.

Sincerely,

Atlantic Physicians Group

MEDICAL GROUP PRACTICE, LLC

Lantana FLA

ASSESSMENT: Your thoughts are appreciated.

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THANK YOU

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