hiring someone to review a contract

[PSD11]

Hi All-

This is an awesome board!  Wish I would have happened upon this a little earlier.  Im transitioning practices from a guaranteed base salary and going into a wRVU production system.  The first 2 yrs of my contract is guaranteed and then I will be on production.  I would like to hire someone to review my contract for me, go over MGMA statistics, and see how I can negotiate/protect myself.  Has anyone had experience hiring someone for this?  I saw Contract Diagnostics advertised.  Does anyone on this board have experience with them?

Thank you!

[jfoxcpacfp]

PSD11 wrote:

Hi All-

This is an awesome board!  Wish I would have happened upon this a little earlier.  Im transitioning practices from a guaranteed base salary and going into a wRVU production system.  The first 2 yrs of my contract is guaranteed and then I will be on production.  I would like to hire someone to review my contract for me, go over MGMA statistics, and see how I can negotiate/protect myself.  Has anyone had experience hiring someone for this?  I saw Contract Diagnostics advertised.  Does anyone on this board have experience with them?

Thank you!

Click to expand...

Contract Diagnostics has gotten nothing but praise on this board from people who have used them.

Are contract reviews worth it?

Accuracy of salary surveys

There was a recent thread (within the last week, I think) where 3 people gave positive reviews of CD, but I can't find it at the moment.

Edit: Found the thread.

[ndayev6]

Yes, Contract Diagnostics is excellent. Jon Appino is the CEO and was who I worked with. I went with the advanced review which was 700 dollars and worth it. They will provide you with MGMA data and their own internal data. They will then take your contract and provide their own version in layman's terms and review it over the phone with you. The advanced review does not include negotiations but I did not feel that I needed somebody else to negotiate for me and they provided useful tips throughout the process. I know they do offer this as well if you are interested for some additional money.

I am just finishing up the process and I would recommend Jon and Contract Diagnostics to anyone.

I am not affiliated with his company.

[YSH]

1. Is the advanced review a one time "session" only or are they willing to work with you until you are comfortable with the contract.  I looked at their website and don't see a listing of services and their cost, so am trying to get some info before contacting them.   I agree I don't need someone to negotiate for me but I might need someone to go over the replies provided from the employer's side if they introduce changes after my feedback.

2. Is it one person that I will working with at CD until my contract is signed or do they have a team that works on several contracts simultaneously?

Thanks,

[The White Coat Investor]

I have an obvious financial conflict of interest recommending Jon/Contract Diagnostics. That said, I've been searching for more advertisers in the same niche for several years and haven't found any other firms I could recommend yet that were interested in advertising. That tells you something.

I think it's very reasonable to use a health care contract attorney in the state where the job will be. But you really want someone who does these reviews all the time. Twice a year isn't enough. So if you decide to go that route, the most important question you can ask is how many other physician contracts have you reviewed in the last year?

The fact that Contract Diagnostics also basically provides you the MGMA for your state and specialty is icing on the cake. I wouldn't expect that from most health care contract attorneys.

I've had at least one contract attorney email me to tell me not to recommend Contract Diagnostics because they don't actually litigate these contracts. I remain unconvinced of that argument. I think I'd rather have someone who reviews dozens/hundreds a year than someone who litigates one every now and then.

[ndayev6]

YSH wrote:

1. Is the advanced review a one time “session” only or are they willing to work with you until you are comfortable with the contract.  I looked at their website and don’t see a listing of services and their cost, so am trying to get some info before contacting them.   I agree I don’t need someone to negotiate for me but I might need someone to go over the replies provided from the employer’s side if they introduce changes after my feedback.

2. Is it one person that I will working with at CD until my contract is signed or do they have a team that works on several contracts simultaneously?

Thanks,

Click to expand...

1. After they review the contract over the phone with you they remain available for some extended period which I think was up to 1 year. You can certainly discuss changes made to the contract by potential employer throughout the process and they will give you advice on ways to make changes. Again, it ultimately falls on you but they give great guidance.

2. I am not sure. I worked with Jon and I am not certain if this happens for everybody but I can tell he is definitely devoted to his work. I do suspect that there is a team in the background working on producing the "layman version" but I suspect you will have just one contact person.

As I mentioned, my experience was excellent. As WCI mentioned above, CD is not a group of attorneys. However, Jon clearly had a ton of experience and was able to provide invaluable information and suggestions for making changes that I would not have considered. Again, I have no affiliation with his company.