An arbitrator has decided that a "no-hire" provision in a contract between Tri-City Healthcare District and Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, Calif., and Pediatrix Medical Group of California is illegal, allowing Tri-City to replace Pediatrix with one of the group's physicians as head of a neonatal intensive care unit.
The suit originated with Pediatrix, a provider of pediatric subspecialty services, attempting to enforce the "no-hire" or noncompete clause which would have prevented Tri-City from appointing Hamid Movahhedian, MD, as head of the NICU.
"We are gratified that the Arbitrator followed the law and allowed Tri-City to retain the most qualified physician, Dr. Movahhedian, as director of the NICU," said Larry B. Anderson, Tri-City's CEO, in a news release. "I hope that other hospitals will follow suit and challenge illegal contracts that limit a hospital's ability to hire the best physicians available."
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