Radiologists should oppose the FTC’s noncompete ban, healthcare legal expert contends
Radiologists should oppose the Federal Trade Commission’s recently announced ban of noncompete clauses, a healthcare legal expert urged.
Reed Smith attorney Tom Greeson made his case in a viewpoint published May 8. Former counsel for the ACR and current representative for radiologists in court, Greeson notes that “virtually all” members of the specialty are bound by noncompete clauses in their employment agreements.
He criticized the American College of Emergency Physicians for supporting the ban, believing it “weakens their membership,” and urged ACR and the RBMA to do the opposite.
“During my decades of representing diagnostic radiology groups, I developed my own short list of what I consider to be the attributes of a successful group practice, or at least one capable of being successful,” Greeson wrote. “One of the key elements on my short list is a strong and enforceable intra-radiology group tailing noncompete between the group and its radiologists.”
He called it “vital” that organizations have these clauses in place with both radiologists who hold shares in the practice and those who do not. When discussing contracts with hospital clients, Greeson said it's important the practice present itself as a single economic entity, allowing for leverage in negotiations.
“A noncompete agreement by and among a group's radiologists has the effect of assuring that the hospital deal in good faith with the group as a single entity,” he wrote. “Candidly, the intragroup noncompetes can make it more challenging for the hospital to replace the incumbent group. Radiologists need leverage sometimes, and this is one feature of their business structure that can lawfully bring bargaining power to the group.”
The rule is slated to go into effect Sept. 4, though the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has already sued to block it. Greeson anticipates the U.S. District Court will issue a preliminary decision prior to the go-live date.
Read the rest of his opinion piece here:
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.