Noncompete

[SaraBloom]

Jurisdiction

North Carolina

I left my medical practice recently and would like to practice telemedicine from my home. My home address is 20 miles from my previous medical practice. My noncompete states that I cannot practice medicine within 8 miles radius of the practice for a duration of one year.( there is no mention of telemed) I would like to work before that time and thought telemed would be a great way to bridge the gap. I am located in NC. If I ended up seeing some of my former patients via telemed would I be in violation of my contract?

Thanks,
Sara

 

[Zigner]

I left my medical practice recently and would like to practice telemedicine from my home. My home address is 20 miles from my previous medical practice. My noncompete states that I cannot practice medicine within 8 miles radius of the practice for a duration of one year.( there is no mention of telemed) I would like to work before that time and thought telemed would be a great way to bridge the gap. I am located in NC. If I ended up seeing some of my former patients via telemed would I be in violation of my contract?

Thanks,
Sara

You should take your contract to a local attorney for a full review.

 

[zddoodah]

No one here who has not read your contract can intelligently tell you whether doing "telemedicine" would be breaching your contract. Also, AFAIK, none of the folks who post here (some of whom are lawyers and some of whom are not) are in NC.

You either give it a try and take your chances or consult with a local attorney for advice. You could also try calling the president or (if there is one) in-house counsel with your former practice and asking if they'd object to what you're planning. They might not.

P.S. If your screen name is your real name, you should know that using your real name to post about your legal issues online is not a great idea.

 

[adjusterjack]

If I ended up seeing some of my former patients via telemed would I be in violation of my contract?

Speculation here. If those patients live within 8 miles of your old practice you are likely to find yourself on the receiving end of a lawsuit.

Z's suggestion that you get consent to take your patients with you (if they want to do telemed) is probably the best suggestion you're going to get short of spending money on a lawyer.