Physician Restrictive Covenants — A Delicate Balancing Act

Restrictive covenants in contracts with physicians are generally governed by state common or statutory law. Except for those states where restrictive covenants are either legislatively or judicially prohibited, the states' differing treatment of physician restrictive covenants generally revolves around the tension between a medical practice's right to protect its patient relationships, goodwill and investment in training and mentoring and a patient's right to select a physician of his or her choice and the physician's right to select a course of treatment and the location of this treatment (such as a particular hospital or medical facility) in the best interest of his or her patients.