Make More Money
Services • Legal Services • Contract Review
Effective, Proven Results
Contract Review Services For Physicians
Physicians Thrive’s Contract Review Services are designed to ensure physicians receive fair and competitive employment agreements.
We meticulously analyze every clause in your contract, from compensation and benefits to restrictive covenants, to ensure it aligns with your career goals and safeguards your future.
Our team of legal experts specializes in physician contracts across all states, offering tailored advice and negotiation strategies that empower you to secure favorable terms.
With a track record of serving over 25,000 physicians, we help you navigate complex legal language with clarity, giving you the confidence to sign with assurance and focus on your professional success.
7,000+ satisfied physicians
– Jigar Panchal
I worked with Dave Swan recently for disability insurance. Dave and his team were very professional and courteous. He was always available for questions and was overall a pleasure to work with.
– Saurabh Singhal
I couldn’t recommend Dave & Steve Stratman for contract review services more. I also further have a meeting set with Dave to discuss disability insurance and continue our discussion about financial education and planning in the upcoming weeks.
– Nick Peacock
Great company to work with, helped me set up own occupation disability insurance and were very helpful and great at explaining things along the way.
– Ealena Callender
I have been very pleased with Physician’s Thrive. Their representatives are always responsive and helpful. Michaela is pleasant and eager to help. It is great to have one reliable place to go for a wide range of services. I highly recommend them to anyone who asks.
– Doug Zaruta
Top notch all-inclusive financial planning, contract review, accounting, tax planning, and more. Dave Swan is a true professional with strong values and integrity. He and the entire team at Physician’s Thrive are trustworthy, reliable, and accessible.
– Jake Luther
Michaela provided excellent advice regarding student loan repayment, investments, and home buying when I was entering residency. I highly recommend her and this company for any physicians that are in search of financial advising.
– Colton Roessner
Michaela gave a great presentation on medical student financial literacy and making the transition from student to resident to attending physician. I would highly recommend her for anyone with financial questions about medical student loans and financial planning!
How It Works
The contract review process begins with securely uploading your employment agreement through our portal.
Once received, our legal experts conduct a thorough analysis, evaluating every aspect of your contract, including compensation, benefits, restrictive covenants, and legal clauses, to ensure it meets your career objectives and industry standards.
Following the review, you’ll have a one-on-one consultation with our team to discuss findings and receive tailored recommendations.
With this information, you can confidently advocate for improved terms or allow our experts to handle negotiations on your behalf.
Our goal is to ensure your agreement supports your long-term success while addressing any potential risks.
Specialized for Physicians
We work exclusively with doctors and their families, ensuring expert guidance and the best contract outcomes.
Committed to Success
From first jobs to seasoned careers, we help physicians secure the best compensation and protect their futures.
No Hidden Fees
Our pricing is clear and straightforward. Upgrade packages only require paying the difference—no surprises.
110,500 Physicians and $3.6 Billion
…and Counting
We’ve Reviewed & Negotiated Billions of Dollars of Physician Compensation
Our legal team has reviewed over 20,000 contracts across all 50 states, so we’re no stranger to the ins and outs of contract negotiations. In fact, 99% of physicians who work with us feel confident enough to sign their contracts once we’ve finished our full financial and legal review of their contract.
Single Contract
All 50 states & specialties
$999
Flat Rate (ask for discounts)
1 Contract (Offer Letter included) plus all exhibits and full benefits guide
Full attorney review and recommendations
Includes call with attorney, notes, access via phone or email through signing of contract.
Unlimited Consultations with Financial Advisor
Includes call with Advisor, notes, access via phone or email through signing of contract.
Comprehensive Benefits review by Financial Advisor
Access to 12+ compensation databases including MGMA Custom Report
Compensation Audits for Your Entire Career
Access and Introduction to a Physician Real Estate professional to help buy and sell personal residences or investments
Access and Introduction to a Physician Relocation specialist to assist with the relocation process, including virtual quotes and access to a trusted moving company whether you’re renting or buying
Physicians Thrive’s Financial Planning clients receive a deep discount
Guaranteed 2-3 Day Turnaround Time (weekends excluded)
Same day turnaround available if materials submitted by 10:00am CT – additional $250 cost
*$400 for each additional contract review – must be purchased within 12 months of $999 package purchase
Need help negotiating? Add a Negotiation Specialist (scroll down for details)
Partnerships / Drafting
All 50 states & specialties
$3799
Flat Rate
Full attorney review and recommendations of Operating/Partnership Agreement and/or Employment Agreement
Call with attorney, notes, access via phone or email through execution of relevant partnership agreements
Unlimited Consultations with certified, licensed Financial Advisor
Practice valuation assessment and review of all partnership financial statements
Full benefits review and recommendations
Access to 12+ compensation databases including MGMA Custom Report
Compensation Audits for Your Entire Career
Access and Introduction to a Physician Real Estate professional to help buy and sell personal residences or investments
Access and Introduction to a Physician Relocation specialist to assist with the relocation process, including virtual quotes and access to a trusted moving company whether you’re renting or buying
Access and Introduction to Job Search and Placement services (if opportunity is declined)
Contract Drafting includes1 contract (Offer letter included)
Call with attorney and continuous access via phone and email through full drafting of agreement.
Access and Introduction to Physician Relocation specialist to help buy and sell personal residences or investements
Termination / Resignation
All 50 states & specialties
$650
Flat Fee
1 Contract
Full attorney review and recommendations of entire contract
Terms and termination clause navigation
Non-compete and restrictive covenant risk assessment
Notice requirements and proper notice strategy
Call with attorney, notes, access via phone or email through termination of contract
Malpractice insurance review and risk mitigation
Introduction to malpractice insurance broker in the event it’s necessary or if requested
Transition strategy plus sample termination notices provided
Access and Introduction to a Physician Real Estate professional to help buy and sell personal residences or investments
Access and Introduction to a Physician Relocation specialist to assist with the relocation process, including virtual quotes and access to a trusted moving company whether you’re renting or buying
Access and Introduction to Job Search and Placement services
Guaranteed 2-3 Day *Turnaround Time (weekends excluded)
Same day turnaround available if materials submitted by 10:00am CT – additional $250 cost
Negotiation Specialist
All 50 states & specialties
Can be added to any Contract Review package
Ask about pricing
Includes everthing in your original Contract Review package, plus:
In-house negotiation specialist handling the negotiation aspects with your employer
Extensive experience negotiating contract deals worth billions of dollars across Fortune 100 companies
Unique understanding of all sides of negotiation as he has represented executives, physicians and employers in employment negotiations
Trained through many of the top negotiation training programs in the world
Regularly negotiates for individual clients who enter into partnership arrangements or form their own businesses
Large practice experience and work ethic with small practice client attention
Multiple areas of focused negotiation including signing bonus, base salary, wRVU rate, loan repayment allowance, stipends, supervisory pay, call coverage, etc
Contract Review Guarantee
Enter your contract review with confidence.
Physicians Thrive is proud to be the only provider with multiple guarantees, including: turn around and price matching. Ask your advisor or click here for more details.
Turnaround Time
We guarantee your advisor and attorney will have availability to meet with you within 2-3 business days of us receiving your payment and employment agreement.
After meeting with the advisor and attorney, you will be prepared to negotiate with your prospective employer or have our negotiation specialist ready to negotiate on your behalf.
A 50% refund or credit will be granted if the guarantees above is not met.*
Price Match
We guarantee to offer the most complete and comprehensive contract review services available and for the best price. In the case you find an equivalent service for a lower cost, we are willing to match the fee.
You must provide proof of a competitor’s contract review package and pricing through a link to their website.
Additional Savings
In addition to our guarantees, the following areas are likely to improve the offer more than two times over the price of the service.
Based on our experiences these areas are the most commonly changed when using our contract review services:
- Salary
- Signing bonus
- Relocation reimbursement
- Medical directorship compensation
- Call pay
- Annualized increase in compensation
- Extra time off for CME and vacation
- Tail insurance coverage
- Forgiveness periods for bonus(es)
- Loan interest rates for guaranteed salaries or other items
- Allowances for CME, dues, licenses and subscriptions
- Allowances for professional fees like financial planning or tax services
- Other income opportunities
*To receive a refund, the client must provide requested feedback to the advisor and attorney. The client must also provide a signed copy of the finalized contract to the advisor.
If the client is unable to meet within 2-3 business days during the operating hours of Physicians Thrive, this does not warrant a refund. Physicians Thrive guarantee only applies to contract review services.
Fill Out the Form to Get Started
Employment contracts are the foundation of your finances and your ability to make future career choices. At Physicians Thrive, we’re here to help you understand and negotiate your contract before you sign.
99% of Physician Thrive Clients
Sign their contract after our contract review and negotiation process.
Across the country, we’ve served thousands of physicians ensure they receive the compensation they deserve and are not legally confined by an unfair contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I really negotiate my contract?
Yes, you can negotiate your contract. Most employers are open to discussing questions and requests for changes, especially early in the process.
The key is to involve an attorney as soon as possible and delay negotiating until they can guide you. While employers may not accommodate every request, the biggest risk is simply hearing “no,” so you shouldn’t hesitate to ask for modifications.
In rare cases—less than 1% of over 5,000 negotiations we’ve handled—employers may react unfavorably.
This often signals a poor fit, as such employers tend to have unbending policies, poor communication, and less favorable working conditions.
Why have my contract reviewed?
One of the most damaging financial threats to your career as a physician is the possibility of inadequate compensation through complex payment formulas or a contract containing legal pitfalls that undermine future income.
Low compensation and contract loopholes are two of the main reasons almost 50% of physicians leave their employers, according to the 2013 Physician Retention Survey by Cejka Search and AMGA.
What does the process look like?
Our process begins with an electronic link where you can pay and upload your employment documents and related information.
Next, you’ll receive a scheduling link for calls with our financial advisor and attorney, which can often be arranged within 24 hours.
The financial advisor will provide a written comparison of your offer using industry standards, MGMA data, and our proprietary database, outlining suggested changes.
The attorney will then review legal issues, integrate the advisor’s insights, and coach you on negotiation strategies.
If you prefer, our negotiation specialist can handle negotiations for you. Throughout the process, we remain available for additional calls, email correspondence, and final contract review, ensuring thorough support at every stage.
How long does the process take?
We guarantee that we can review the contract within 2-3 business days, and we have an expedited option for physicians in a time crunch.
When you negotiate, how successful are you in convincing the employer to modify the contract?
It is impossible to predict how an employer will respond to our negotiation thoughts. We have seen annual six-digit compensation increases, total inflexibility, and everything in-between.
What we can say, is that generally speaking, the vast majority of employers are at least willing to listen to negotiation thoughts, and won’t respond unprofessionally (by, say, revoking the offer!).
In light of that experience, we encourage our clients not to hesitate to make reasonable requests.
Who are the attorneys that will work with me?
Our attorneys are highly experienced, with over a decade of expertise negotiating physician contracts.
Many have Ivy League backgrounds and personal ties to medicine, often having doctors in their immediate families, which deepens their understanding of your needs.
Collectively, they have reviewed hundreds—if not thousands—of physician employment agreements and are well-versed in cultural nuances relevant to foreign-born and immigrant clients, including Indian and Canadian professionals.
Our clients’ loyalty speaks to the quality of their work. If desired, we can provide detailed credentials.
We also recommend evaluating other providers’ attorney qualifications, including education, healthcare expertise, and years of experience.
How much experience does your team have?
Our company started working with physicians more than fifteen years ago. During the time since, our team that has reviewed over 20,000 employment opportunities, that are worth over $3.6 billion in the aggregate, in every state and in every specialty.
How do you differ from other firms providing contract review services for physicians?
We stand out from other contract review services by offering a comprehensive approach that involves a financial advisor, an attorney, and an optional negotiator.
This team collaborates to evaluate your compensation, review your contract, and handle direct negotiations if needed—ensuring every aspect is thoroughly addressed.
Unlike many firms, we use not only widely available databases like MGMA but also our proprietary database of thousands of physicians, providing unique leverage during negotiations.
Additionally, we provide unlimited access to our professionals throughout the review, consultation, and negotiation process, as well as ongoing support during the contract term for maintenance issues.
Are you a law firm?
We are not a law firm. We come from a family of physicians and award-winning wealth advisors that carefully review and select the attorneys that we partner with.
We believe in assembling the best team of professionals and maintain extremely close relationships with our attorney partners as we take our clients through the contract review and negotiation process.
Contract Review Explained
Physicians Thrive is the only contract review provider that gives physicians unlimited access to both a licensed attorney and a financial planner during the review & negotiation process. At Physicians Thrive, we’re here to help you understand and negotiate before you sign.
What is a Physician’s Employment Contract?
A physician’s contract is an employment contract between a doctor and the hospital group or practice they’ll be working for. It stipulates all of the terms of your employment, including what you’ll do, where you’ll do it, and how much you’ll be paid.
Contracts also include details about your weekly hours, call coverage, and benefits.
The contract should also say whether you’ll be an employee or an independent contractor. This is an important point of distinction, as employees are typically paid a salary with the potential to receive bonuses. Independent contractors may only be paid for the services they provide, without a guarantee of a set salary.
It is common for new physicians to make contract review mistakes, so it is always best to have a legal professional perform a contract review.
Do All Doctors Have to Sign Contracts?
Not necessarily. But as the trends in physician employment shift, more and more doctors are required to do so.
According to a 2018 study by the Physicians Advocacy Institute, the percentage of hospital-employed physicians increased by more than 70% between July 2012 and January 2018. In addition, the percentage of hospital-owned practices increased by over 128%. The trends show that more doctors are working as employees rather than working in private practice.
In 2019, an AMA press release supported that data. AMA reported that 47.4% of all physicians practice medicine as employees. Only 45.9% are physician owners with their own medical practice. All of those employed physicians can expect, at some point, to have to sign a physician employment contract.
Why is it Important to Have a Contract Reviewed?
It is in the physician’s best interest to have a contract reviewed before signing and agreeing to its terms and restrictive covenants.
Contracts are legally binding documents, and they can be full of complicated contract language. Hiring a legal professional is the best way to ensure that you’re getting a fair deal.
During the review process, a lawyer will look at a variety of things, including your base salary, hours, benefits, and the option to earn bonuses. (Bonuses are usually performance-based on productivity). They will also make sure that non-compete clauses are legal and fair and that termination clauses are clearly defined.
In most cases, an attorney will not be able to tell you if your benefits and salary are on par with those of similar physicians. This is where specialized consultants and advisors come into play. Having access to a compensation benchmarking and benefits advisor is the person you can get that information from.
The review process is also a chance to negotiate the terms of your contract. A lawyer will be able to provide you with the info you need to negotiate and, in some cases, may be able to handle the contract negotiations for you.
When Should You Have a Contract Review?
Various circumstances may require that you sign a contract.
Hire a professional to do your contract review if you are:
- Entering into a new contract
- Renewing a contract
- Changing compensation or benefits packages
- Renegotiating an existing contract
- Exiting a physician employment contract
- Transitioning to a partnership
- Starting a new business
Under these circumstances, you should hire an attorney to review your contract thoroughly before signing it. Once you sign, you’ll have little to no standing to make changes. You will be bound by the existing contract terms.
Physicians who don’t have their contracts reviewed put themselves in professional jeopardy. Find out that you’re not being paid a fair salary or that your call hours are too excessive after you sign, and it will be too late.
What Your Contract Should Include
Most physician contracts are in excess of twenty pages. And those pages are full of details that can be easy to miss or overlook unless you have experience reviewing similar documents on a daily basis.
Here are a few important aspects of a contract, which your lawyer should look for and inspect during a review:
1. Compensation and benefits
The document should clearly define your salary as well as incentive pay, income guarantees, and on-call pay. It should also include a complete list of all the benefits you will receive or they should provide this to you on supplemental documents.
Some of the benefits you may receive include:
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Malpractice insurance
- Life insurance
- Disability insurance
- Vacation days
- Sick leave/personal leave
- Repayment of professional membership dues
- Student loan repayment
- Relocation expenses
- Continuing Medical Education (CME)
Let your lawyer know of any verbal promises made to you during the interview process (such as a signing bonus, liability insurance, or relocation expenses). During the review, your lawyer will ensure that those benefits are documented in writing in the physician employment agreement.
Though all aspects of the contract are important, compensation may be the most important point of all. And that is why hiring a contract review attorney is essential.
Contract attorneys rarely, if ever, know how much other physicians in your region and specialty are earning. Again, their focus is going to be on the legal aspects. In some rare cases though, an attorney may have first-hand knowledge of your specific employer if they’ve reviewed contracts for them before.
Without an attorney, you’ll need to do hours of independent research to determine if your benefits and compensation packages are what they should be unless you work with a compensation benchmarking specialist or an advisor who consults on and subscribes to compensation databases.
2. Ownership and partnership agreements
You may decide someday to become an owner or a partner in the practice you’re about to work for. So you need to understand that your contract may not even mention it. Therefore, you have to inquire into the expectations and how the process works.
Most likely, there will be additional documents, separate from an employment contract that would include the parameters for becoming a partner. It should detail time frames that may be relevant, buy-ins that might be necessary, and what the purchase price will be. These are essential things to look for in a contract review, so make sure they’re included when applicable.
3. Duties and responsibilities
Your contract should detail all of your specific duties and responsibilities. It will also include what type of medicine you’ll be practicing and when and where you’ll do so.
In this part of the contract, look for the details of your work hours and workdays, call responsibilities, and physical workspace. Depending on your specialty, it may also detail how many patients you need to see each hour, day, or week.
4. Restrictive covenants
Restrictive covenants are one of the best ways for employers to protect their interests if and when you terminate employment. Two of the most common ones are the non-compete clause and the non-solicitation clause.
A standard non-compete may restrict you from working within a certain distance of your employer’s location. This could be a short distance or a wide area, so pay close attention to this.
Non-solicitation may restrict you from taking current patients with you, at least within a given time frame. Your patients will always have the option to seek you out and move to your new practice, but you will not be allowed to solicit them to do so.
5. Start and end dates
Your contract needs to have a firm start and end date. Some employers will renew the contract automatically at the end of the term. Others may require you to go through a new contract approval process.
Make sure you understand the dates of your contract so that you can be proactive in renewing or renegotiating it when it ends.
6. Termination details
Your contract should also detail if you can be terminated with or without cause.
If you can be terminated without cause, you can be let go for any reason (or no reason at all). If you can only be terminated with cause, your employer will have to provide you with a valid reason. Typically, a “with cause” termination occurs as a result of inappropriate conduct or the loss of hospital privileges.
7. Insurance requirements
Physician employment contracts also describe what types of insurance you will be required to carry. This includes malpractice insurance and tail insurance. In some cases, your employer may provide those for you. In other cases, you’ll be responsible for paying for those insurance policies yourself.
How to Negotiate a Contract
Employers typically have standardized terms that they offer to every employee. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to negotiate to get the best possible deal or at least seek out improvements where applicable.
With a lawyer to conduct your contract review, you’ll be made aware of any portions of the contract that you can negotiate. Some of the most commonly negotiated financial aspects include salary, bonuses, relocation expenses, and paid time off. Legal areas that often get changed have to do with the termination clauses such as shorten the non-compete and providing a more favorable approach to sharing the tail insurance cost.
Remember, attorneys don’t just review contracts. Attorneys write contracts as well. So while you may not notice that a detail has been left out of the contract, you can be sure that your attorney will.
Most employers are open to discussing and taking contract change requests. This is a common practice. Unless you’ve already had an extensive back and forth negotiation with the employer, your attorney may be able to negotiate on your behalf.
To have more negotiating power, hire an attorney at the beginning of the contract review process. If you’ve already gone back and forth with the potential employer several times, bringing in a lawyer at the end of the process won’t be as beneficial. Your employer may be hesitant to negotiate further if you’ve been in negotiations for some time.
Keep in mind, your employer is under no obligation to meet any of your demands or requests. But it doesn’t hurt to ask. The worst thing that can happen during the negotiation process is that they will say no.
How to Find a Contract Review Lawyer
Every state has specific regulations when it comes to contract review. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to hire a healthcare attorney in your particular state.
Professional physician contract attorneys know the nuances of the law from state to state. Experienced attorneys can provide review services for any geographic location.
The variations in state law are minimal. A professional attorney will be able to review your contract and look out for the subtleties in different locales.
Where your attorney is located is far less critical than their experience in the area of contract law. At Physicians Thrive, we connect qualified, licensed attorneys with physicians in all 50 U.S. states. To date, our experts have conducted contract reviews for over 5,000 physicians and counting.
In addition, Physicians Thrive will also provide you with the services of a certified financial planner. This helps physicians entering into a new contract to start making plans for savings, investments, and retirement.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Contract Review Lawyer?
At Physicians Thrive, we offer our clients the option to have a single contract review or have multiple contracts reviewed over a period of time. Both options include unlimited consultations with a financial advisor and access to an independently contracted attorney.
You’ll also receive annual access to MGMA compensation data and compensation audits for your entire career. If you so choose, you can also have a negotiation specialist negotiate on your behalf.
