Here are three physicians' thoughts on noncompetes:
Marsha Haley, MD. Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh: Noncompetes were more important when physician private practices were the norm. The purpose was to prevent a physician from opening another nearby practice to directly compete with the original practice. Now that most physicians are employed by large health systems, we need to rethink the concept of noncompetes. Many large health systems have a footprint that expands several states. If a physician is let go or leaves the practice, this requires the physician to move a long distance to meet the noncompete clause. Given the size and vertical integration of health systems, they are in no danger of losing a significant number of patients to the departing physician. The physician, however, is now required to move a great distance away from children's schools and extended family to make a living.
To make noncompetes more fair and applicable to the current medical environment, they could potentially be tailored to smaller private practices but not be applicable to large health systems or private equity companies.
L. Dade Lunsford, MD. Physician and the Lars Leksell Professor and Distinguished Professor at the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh: It is certainly widespread among regional competing medical centers and is a known component of current contracts. Many have specific geographical restrictions so that a violation would be employment by a competitor within a certain mileage of any hospital or healthcare facility of the currently employed physician. This requires some physicians to move outside of a wide region in hospital systems that have multiple healthcare entities scattered over a wide geographic region. Thus, when a physician resigns, the noncompete enforcement can be very disruptive not only to providing healthcare for that doctor's patients but disruptive to his family as they will need to move. Hospitals believe that the patients cared for by their doctors belong to the hospital, not the doctor providing care. In fact, most patients still select their healthcare providers based on the doctor, not the doctor's employer.
John Nelson, MD. Pathologist at Merit Health Biloxi (Mo.): It absolutely causes strife and stress in physician's lives and limits fair market competition. Physicians are not versed enough coming out to realize these issues.