Noncompetes Ubiquitous in Health Care Professions

Noncompete clauses that prevent physicians and other health care professionals from taking patients with them if they move to a competing practice are common. A recent survey of 2,000 primary care physicians in five states found that nearly half of them were bound by such clauses. It is becoming a problem for patients who require continuity of care, and it’s unnerving for anyone whose doctor just vanishes without any warning. Many of the covenants forbid health care professionals from recruiting former patients to follow them, and when patients manage to find them they may not be accepted into those practices. Hospitals and clinics say they must respect the terms of business agreements that others have negotiated. Some in the medical profession are pushing back, claiming that cutting off access to a doctor is different from disrupting someone’s relationship with a favorite hairstylist or money manager. Massachusetts and Colorado generally won’t enforce noncompetes against doctors, and Texas and Tennessee place limits on the agreements.