FREE — RED FLAG CONTRACT CHECKLIST
The contract provisions that quietly cost you.
Pick your specialty and see the complete checklist immediately. Twelve physician specialties, no upload required.
Free. No credit card. Email delivery is optional.
Your IM checklist is ready. Review it below or keep a PDF copy.
Email or text me this checklist (optional)
The checklist is already available below. Use this only if you want a copy sent to you.
RED FLAG CHECKLIST · INTERNAL MEDICINE
The contract provisions
that quietly cost you.
Data. Leverage. Fair pay.
Outpatient + panel size · specialty-specific
The provisions below are the ones most likely to cost internal medicine physicians money, mobility, or leverage. Read each item against your contract and mark whether it is present, missing, or unclear. A single CRITICAL finding warrants careful review before signing.
THE RED FLAGS
6 CRITICAL · 7 HIGH · 2 MODERATE
wRVU rate with no named benchmark
A dollar-per-wRVU multiplier with no reference to 2025 national benchmarks gives the employer full discretion to call any rate “market.”
Compensation model not specified
If salary vs. wRVU vs. capitation vs. hybrid is ambiguous, the model can shift at renewal — a guarantee silently converting to production-only is the classic pattern.
Advance draw with no floor
Biweekly advances against projected production without a guaranteed floor mean a year-end production shortfall becomes a clawback you owe back.
No minimum shift or census guarantee
Per-shift or per-encounter rates with no minimum hand the employer full control of your income — they can cut shifts or redirect admissions and your pay drops without breach.
Claims-made malpractice, no tail commitment
Silence leaves who pays unresolved. Ask for employer-paid tail in writing for resignation, termination and nonrenewal; confirm the policy terms.
Stark / self-referral language
Referral-linked pay can put your compensation at risk. Require written terms showing what earns credit and how the arrangement complies with applicable rules before signing.
Panel size with no cap or productivity adjustment
An uncapped panel means unpaid workload as it grows — more messages, refills, results, and forms at the same pay. Require a cap or per-patient-above-threshold payment.
HEDIS / quality bonus denominator controlled by employer
A bonus tied to system-level metrics or panel mix you didn't choose is structured not to pay out. The denominator, attribution, and physician influence path must be specified.
Termination without cause under 90 days
Credentialing alone typically runs 90–120 days. A 30- or 60-day without-cause window leaves no time to credential, relocate, or negotiate the next contract from strength.
Non-compete over 10 miles or 2 years
Enforceability varies sharply by state, but litigating an aggressive restriction costs time and money you don't want to spend. Narrow scope and duration before signing.
Nocturnist differential below market or missing
The 2025 national benchmark median nocturnist differential is roughly 15%, with top-quartile groups at 20–25%. A missing or below-median differential is below market — anchor it to benchmark data.
Ambiguous call coverage language
Specify: in-house vs. remote, number of call days per year, per-call payment rate, and whether call is included in or additive to base. Ambiguity shifts unpaid work onto you.
Bonus threshold not tested against your workload
Test the threshold against your credited production, workload and payout period. Model low, expected and high-production payouts before counting the bonus as income.
Moonlighting restriction blocking locum work
A blanket prohibition on outside clinical work eliminates a substantial supplemental income stream. Restrict only true conflicts (same geography, same patient population).
Sign-on clawback over 2 years or full repayment
Standard structure is pro-rata over 24 months. A 3-year clawback or full-repayment-until-year-three is aggressive — negotiate pro-rata and a waiver on without-cause termination.
For informational purposes only. Does not constitute legal advice.
NEXT STEP
Found a critical or unclear term?
Check the actual language, compare like-for-like terms, and rank what to change.
GOT A CONTRACT IN HAND?
The checklist tells you where to look. The full analysis tells you what it’s worth.
Upload your contract for a clause-by-clause review, like-for-like benchmark comparisons when available, ranked negotiation priorities, and a counter-proposal draft.
Not ready to upload? Model the offer in Offer Lab.
PDF report same-day. 7-day refund. No subscription.
Continue with ClauseLine
Offer Lab →
Model the economics of an offer privately, without uploading anything.
Free offer scan →
Upload or paste one offer for a limited pay-position and non-compete read.
Non-compete by state →
Is your non-compete enforceable? The radius and term limits in all 50 states.
Sample report →
The full analysis a buyer receives — scoring, benchmarks, playbook.