Addressing Call in Physician Employment Agreements

Make sure the physician employment agreement addresses when a physician can remove himself or herself from the group's call schedule. In addition, make sure it addresses how the physician will be penalized financially if he or she gets off call.

I think the employment agreement should say that a physician must give at least one year's notice in order to be removed from the call schedule rotation. Some agreements also state that a physician must be with the practice at least 20 years before getting off call is even a consideration.

If a physician does get off call, most agreements state that his or her compensation will be reduced 20 - 30%, with this amount being redistributed to the physicians who are remaining on call. Some practices calculate call-related compensation reductions using a relative value unit analysis.