By Steven Babitsky, Esq.

When I work with employed physicians who want to get into the consulting field the first thing I ask them is:
Q.  Tell me about your employment contract? In fact in most cases I ask them to send it along to me so we can review it together.

Many busy employed physicians either have never really read their employment contract or if they read the document do not recall any restrictions and limitations they agreed to about the ability to earn outside income. Many physician employment contracts provide that the physician:

“Shall devote their full time efforts as an employee to the employment duties and obligations set forth in the contract”

This in and of itself does not necessarily preclude the physician from earning outside income on “their own time”.

Many physician employment contracts do provide specific language about earning outside income from:

*Consulting

*Honorariums

*Expert Witness Fees

*Teaching

*Publications

*Moonlighting

*Volunteering

*Research and

*Inventions and Discoveries and other sources of outside income.

This language may be specific attempting to bar the physician from earning this income. Other contracts provide that this income be shared with the employer or given totally to the employer.

Many physician employment contracts have general fuzzy language like:

“Notwithstanding the foregoing the physician shall be permitted to engage in outside activities so long as such activities do not materially interfere with their duties under this agreement. This language can be open to many interpretations.

CONCLUSION

Physicians will want to take a close look at their employment contracts before entering into consulting arrangements.

Steven Babitsky, Esq. is the President of SEAK and annually teaches the SEAK course HOW TO START, RUN, AND BUILD A SUCCESSFUL PHYSICIAN CONSULTING PRACTICE. Here is a link to stream the course now.