Dennis Hursh, Esq

A veteran attorney with over 40 years of experience in health law.

27 articles on KevinMD · 21 podcast episodes

pahealthlaw.com Connect on LinkedIn

Articles, page 2

Physician voices

New employment contracts: What physicians need to know about compensation and benefits

Dennis Hursh, Esq

January 16, 2023Jan 16, 2023

Physicians receiving a new employment contract need to be aware of issues that can arise related to their compensation and benefits. These are some of the things that should be carefully reviewed before signing the agreement. Compensation The agreement should…

Compensation

The agreement should clearly provide what productivity is expected. You can frequently gauge expected productivity by the salary level. If one employer is paying significantly more than another, it is a safe bet that the …

Physician voices

Things to know before signing an academic physician employment agreement

Dennis Hursh, Esq

October 30, 2022Oct 30, 2022

If you are considering accepting an academic appointment, you need to be cognizant of the special issues involved in contracts in academia. You must know these things before signing an academic physician employment agreement. An academic physician employment agreement is…

An academic physician employment agreement is usually light on provisions.

Unlike most hospital physician employment agreements, an academic physician employment agreement tends to be very sparse on contractual provisions. Typically an academic physician employment agreement will just be …

Physician finance

Physician contract horror stories

Dennis Hursh, Esq

September 30, 2022Sep 30, 2022

As a physicians' attorney who focuses his practice on physician contract review, I have seen some truly horrendous results after physicians have signed agreements they did not understand. Here are just a few of the "war stories" I have experienced.…

As a physicians’ attorney who focuses his practice on physician contract review, I have seen some truly horrendous results after physicians have signed agreements they did not understand. Here are just a few of the “war stories” I have experienced.

24/7 call “for a few years”

One physician employment agreement I reviewed had several points that I felt should be clarified. The employer’s attorney accommodated most of my requests for clarification in …

Read more…

Physician contract horror stories

Physician finance

Special contractual issues for female physicians

Dennis Hursh, Esq

August 2, 2022Aug 2, 2022

As a physician's attorney focusing on physician contract review, I spend all of my professional life reviewing and negotiating physician employment agreements. In my experience, women physicians have several issues that need special attention when negotiating their physician employment agreements.…

As a physician’s attorney focusing on physician contract review, I spend all of my professional life reviewing and negotiating physician employment agreements. In my experience, women physicians have several issues that need special attention when negotiating their physician employment agreements.

Any physician needs to be familiar with appropriate compensation through benchmarking data such as that published by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). However, while this may be one of several …

Physician finance

Military physicians leaving the military

Dennis Hursh, Esq

July 8, 2022Jul 8, 2022

Military physicians leaving the military have several issues that should be carefully evaluated before executing a contract with a civilian employer. First of all, the income is definitely going to be higher than the military physician salary. Much like a…

Military physicians leaving the military have several issues that should be carefully evaluated before executing a contract with a civilian employer.

First of all, the income is definitely going to be higher than the military physician salary. Much like a physician coming out of training, military physicians should ask whether the salary is fair, not if they will be making more than they currently earn. Medical Group Management Association (“MGMA”) benchmarks …

Physician voices

The Great Resignation is a great opportunity to renegotiate physician employment agreements

Dennis Hursh, Esq

May 6, 2022May 6, 20222

The Great Resignation is producing tremendous challenges for physicians. In particular, many “senior” physicians (some as young as 50 years old) are simply throwing in the towel and resigning rather than continue with the brutal schedules imposed by many employers. As physicians leave, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit new talent, so in many cases the remaining physicians are forced to take up the “slack.” That “slack,” of course, …

Physician finance

Are hospitals evil? A physician contract lawyer explains.

Dennis Hursh, Esq

January 25, 2022Jan 25, 2022

As an attorney who negotiates physician employment agreements with hospitals on a daily basis, I have developed a healthy skepticism about mindset of hospital executives. It is painfully obvious that most executives in our hospital systems have a business school mindset, that views physicians as necessary (albeit expendable) cogs in the magnificent machine that is the hospital.

Executives can hardly be blamed for this attitude. Physicians will always …