Ask, instead, why they would want to leave

It isn't often that I am surprised in a negative way by something relating to an Ohio pediatric hospital.  Indeed, the hospitals in that state have been at the forefront of working together to enhance quality and safety for their patients.But this recent story in the Columbus Dispatch caught my eye. An excerpt:Non-compete agreements built into contracts help ensure that doctors can’t join a hospital’s crosstown rival or enter private practice across the street — at least for a while.The choice to relocate elsewhere to practice medicine is especially limited for pediatric specialists employed by Nationwide Children’s Hospital.The Dispatch reviewed a non-compete agreement that shows that Nationwide Children’s pediatric specialists risk being sued if they take a job within 100 miles of the hospital within two years of leaving it.It turns out that other Ohio hospitals have similar, if slightly less restrictive clauses.  The rationale:Recruiting and hiring require a significant upfront investment, Thornhill said. “It’s a classic business practice of protecting the investment.”Well, maybe it is--although courts have sometimes tossed out such agreements if they are too wide in scope,.  As noted here:In states where noncompetition clauses for physicians are enforceable, the provision must: 1) protect the employer’s legitimate business interest, 2) be specific in geographical scope, and 3) have a narrowly tailored durational scope. If the lang...
Source: Not running a hospital - Category: Hospital Management Source Type: blogs