How to conduct a site visit

How to conduct a site visit – by Jon Appino

10/28/20

Once the phone calls and emails are through and both the parties show interest in each other, physicians are invited by their prospective employers to do a site visit. A site visit or an on-site interview is an important opportunity for a physician to get to know the work environment, interact with other physician members, and explore the community. Typical site visits consist of a formal introduction to the group, touring the facility, meeting other physicians and support staff, and even spending some informal time with the members of the practice. If taking up the job requires you to move cities, it is also important to spare some time for checking out the schools, housing options, and other amenities your family needs.
The site-visit will also include one final round of interviews. Once your employers have finished asking questions, you too should put forward your own questions and concerns. It is advisable to do your research before you arrive on-site so that you can have all your queries addressed. Apart from your own questions, you can also ask some of the following questions if they seem relevant in your situation.

1. What are the values, goals, and mission of the group?
2. Do they allow outside activities like moonlighting or consulting? Telehealth work in your spare time?
3. What kind of activities, apart from work, does the group engage in? Any committees they are part of?
4. What is the group’s payor mix? How do they see this changing over time?
5. What headwinds do they see over the next 5 years?
6. When was the last time they hired and why is this position open?

After both parties are done asking and answering questions, it is time to talk about the contract Usually, the employer is the first one to bring up the contract in the conversation. You might also be sent a letter of intent prior to the drafting of the contract. If they choose the route of the LOI, we like negotiating this for financials if you have requests around higher pay, signing bonus, vacation, or the various other terms that may be in the LOI. When they send the draft of the agreement, you can still negotiate certain clauses and arrive at a contract that suits you as well as your employer. Avoid bringing up compensation right at the outset. While it is okay to discuss the payment structure, one should refrain from discussing the actual figures until the later stages of the contracting phase. See our next post for when to get a contract review company involved!

Contract Diagnostics is the country’s premier Physician Contract Review company. They are the only firm in the nation that focuses 100% on physician contract reviews. They have been specializing in this for over a decade and have reviewed over 10,000 physician contracts.