V. Dale Wingfield, DVM

San Antonio, TX

210-823-2454

reliever@sbcglobal.net

Contract Agreement

The following information may be helpful in determining if I will be right for your relief needs.

Please read carefully as my requirements for accepting an engagement may differ from other relievers you have used.

What I promise to do for you:

1. Treat your clients with courtesy and your patients with compassion.

2. Treat your staff courteously, fully respecting their knowledge and skills and utilizing them to the fullest extent of their abilities.

3. Solicit input from your staff about your standard procedures and follow those as much as possible.

4. When #3 is not practical in the interest of time and (my) efficiency, I may teach the staff a variant technique. Be assured that anything I do medically that differs from your SOP will still be within “acceptable practice standards” and in use by many other DVMs. (Please prepare your staff to expect this possibility; i.e., the apocalypse will not occur and no one will get fired if I do something differently than you.)

5. Bond your clients to you and your clinic through information and education. i.e., engage in "practice building" as time permits.

6. Try to equal, or better, your "average client transaction" without gouging the client for things they don't need. If we see an average number of clients, I should easily be able to "pay for myself" at the fees I am charging.

7. Try very hard to write clear and sufficient medical record entries so you can easily follow up any of my cases.

8. Leave behind a "pearl of wisdom" or helpful hint picked up along the trail, either directly or through your staff.

What you must accept and agree to before requesting a booking:

1. Without mutual agreement to other terms, all fees and charges are payable on the last day scheduled per calendar week.

2. To maintain my independent contractor status with the IRS, I must NOT be "in your employment". Therefore, I cannot use your time clock or payroll payment methods. I keep track of my time rounded to the nearest quarter hour and must set my own office hours. You probably have a "Payment due when services are rendered" sign in your office. I have the same expectation. Please, leave a signed check for me with a trusted employee in your absence. I will leave a detailed receipt for my services.

3. Rates usually increase 5-10% per annum divided into one, two or three increments per year. A fee schedule with all anticipated changes is available on request, or on my web site, http://www.oocities.org/relievet . When activated, dates already scheduled will be included in the increases.

4. Although a problem has only occurred 4 times since 1993, it is time I put this cancellation policy in my contract: A clinic will be charged for a canceled booking that results in a direct loss of income due to late cancellation that prevented, or prevents, the date(s) from being otherwise engaged. An invoice will be left with, or mailed to, the clinic with information for prompt payment.

5. The acceptance of all the above information in its entirety is required and your acceptance is implied with all requests for bookings. A binding contract will be in force upon our mutual agreement to book relief engagements. If any of this is unsatisfactory, I'll be happy to discuss it BEFORE booking dates.

Note Regarding fees: the methodology for calculating fees may appear a bit complicated, but it has slowly evolved since 1993, striving to remain fair for all parties. If you have ANY questions or comments (especially negative ones) regarding this document or the formulas used in calculation of the fees on the Fee Schedule, please, talk to me before scheduling!

Note regarding LOCAL office hours. For local engagements, my available office hours begin "as soon as I can get there between 8:00am - 9:00am" (I leave my house about 7:30). Most days, I have to drop my son at school on the way, so that limits when I can start the trip. If I arrive "late", I'll work into, or through, lunch to make it up. Due to high variability in construction and traffic congestion, I cannot guarantee precise punctuality on weekdays. As per my Fee Schedule, "local" rates apply for trips of 30 minutes or less. Recently, that only covers about 10-12 miles. However, if you need assurance of a punctual arrival at a time before 9:00am, I can make arrangements to leave earlier and apply the appropriate fees for a "Day Trip" if travel time exceeds 30 minutes. If this is an issue for your clinic, PLEASE discuss it with me prior to booking.