The three that matter most
1. Is the percentage applied to production, adjusted production, or collections?
The percentage means nothing until you know what it multiplies. The same 30% can differ by more than $5,000 in a single month depending on the answer. The worked comparison.
2. Is lab taken off before or after my percentage?
Before means the lab share comes out of the pot first and you are paid a percentage of what remains. After means you are paid on the full amount and the lab share comes off your side. On typical numbers that is around $20,000 a year. How to check.
3. Is the daily guarantee a floor, or a draw I pay back?
A floor means a slow month costs the practice. A draw means it costs you, later. Ask specifically whether it is recoverable. The difference in dollars.
The rest of the compensation list
- When am I paid, and for what period? Semi-monthly on the prior month's collections is common. Know the lag before you plan around it.
- What does the pay stub show? Ask to see a redacted example. A stub showing production, collections, adjustments, lab and the calculation is a good sign about the practice generally.
- Can I see a production report for my own work, monthly? If the answer is no, ask why. This is your work.
- Who sets the fee schedule and which plans are you in network with? On a collections or adjusted-production contract, the payer mix is a direct multiplier on your income.
- Are there tiers, and do they reset monthly or annually? Why the reset period matters.
- Who pays for CE, licence, DEA, malpractice, and is tail coverage included? Tail is the one people forget, and it can run into thousands on the way out.
- What happens to unpaid collections after I leave? You produced work in your last month that collects after you go. Does it get paid to you?
The non-compensation clauses to read properly
- Restrictive covenant. Radius, duration, and measured from where. A two-mile radius in a city is very different from ten miles in a rural county. Have a lawyer read this one, genuinely.
- Termination notice, both ways. 60 or 90 days is normal. Check it is symmetrical.
- Scheduling control. Who decides your days, your column, and what happens if the practice cancels a day you were guaranteed.
- Lab and supply authority. If lab comes out of your pay, can you choose the lab?
How to ask without it being awkward
It is not awkward. You are asking how you will be paid, before agreeing to be paid that way. The framing that works is curiosity rather than suspicion: "I want to make sure I understand the structure properly, can you walk me through how a month is calculated?"
A practice that answers openly is telling you something good about the next three years. A practice that gets defensive about how it calculates your pay is telling you something too.
Get the answers in the contract, not in the interview. Anything important that lives only in a conversation does not exist.