Physician noncompete clauses are common, and getting out of them is a challenge, according to a report from Medscape.
Hospitals and practices that invest in recruiting and training physicians can use noncompete clauses to prevent physicians from leaving their organizations before their contract is up.
Medscape conducted a poll of 558 physicians and found:
1. Ninety percent of respondents were bound by a noncompete clause in their contracts, or had been bound by one in the past.
2. Twenty-three percent of the respondents said they tried to negotiate out of a noncompete agreement but were not successful.
3. Thirty percent of respondents said they didn't try to negotiate out of the noncompete agreement.
4. Among the physicians who left a job while under a noncompete agreement, 42 percent were able to work in a similar position outside the noncompete restrictions. Another 6 percent found a different type of work.