Many physician leaders feel noncompetes, which prohibit physicians from joining a competing practice or setting up their own within a particular geographic distance from their previous practice for a certain period of time, are stifling physician autonomy.
Three physicians and one certified registered nurse anesthetist joined Becker's to discuss how they feel about noncompetes.
Question: How do you feel about noncompetes?
Editor's note: These responses were edited lightly for brevity and clarity.
Harold Davis, MD. OB-GYN at Physicians Health Alliance (Scranton, Pa.): Noncompetes are spiteful and unfair towards physicians.
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.
Maria Hirsch, CRNA. Director of Anesthesia Services at Carilion Professional Services (Roanoke, Va.): I feel that they are not valuable to the provider, only to the hiring group/company/institution. I would not agree to one for employment.
David Robbins, MD. Gastroenterologist at Northwell Health (New York City): Noncompetes are an abuse of leverage and undermine the very fealty a physician might otherwise feel for the entity that employs them. They should be outlawed. I can’t think of any relationship, professional or even social, where one's options to find a more suitable life are defined by someone else.