Contract Types
OPSCA Agreements
OPSCA reviews all School of Medicine student affiliations agreements and certain service contracts and other agreements that fall under the signature delegation of the Dean of the School of Medicine.
Please note that certain activities might require a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) to be executed prior to receiving or providing services. Once executed, each department holds responsibility for submitting each fully executed BAA to the Privacy Office BAA Repository, found at http://privacy.unc.edu.
Affiliation Agreements
Affiliation Agreements allow the University to furnish or receive services to further the training, education, or clinical experience of students and interns. The School of Medicine generally requires the outside agency to use the University’s template agreement for these activities.
Affiliation Agreements are typically reviewed and executed by OPSCA within 2 to 5 business days after receipt of a contract request.
Professional Service Agreements – Clinical Services
Any activity under which School of Medicine Faculty or staff provide clinical services requires a Clinical Professional Services Agreement. The Health Affairs Code describes and governs activities that are clinical in nature, including all patient care activities, peer consultations, medical directorships, or chart review. Contracts for such activities will be processed by OPSCA as Clinical Services, and income generated from these services must be handled in managed in accordance with the Health Affairs Code, Section III. Effective July 1st, 2018, contracts for these activities are subject to counter-approval of the CEO of UNC Faculty Physicians and (except for contracts with UNC Hospitals) will be subject to a 5.5% tax levied by UNC Faculty Physicians.
Professional Clinical Services Agreements are highly complex and may involve extensive regulatory review. When submitting a Clinical PSA for review, please complete and attach this Term Sheet to the Contract Request Form using the “Submit a Contract for Review” tab above. Contracts should be submitted with the completed Term Sheet for review as soon as possible to avoid delays. These agreements are typically reviewed and executed by OPSCA within 4 to 8 weeks after receipt of a contract request.
Professional Service Agreements – Non-clinical Services
Non-clinical Service Agreements are those under which the School of Medicine provides services that do not involve patient care, but otherwise impart the clinical wisdom or professional competence of a faculty member, staff, or physician. Examples include quality assurance and audit activities, system and program support, and technical assistance. Non-clinical services may also include arrangements with any Area Health Education Center (AHEC) for support of continuing medical education (CME) events, or certain agreements to allow outside organizations to make use of School of Medicine facilities.
Depending on complexity, these agreements are typically reviewed and executed by OPSCA within 3 to 4 weeks after receipt of a contract request.
Educational Grant Agreements and Event Exhibitor Agreements
Departments within the School of Medicine may solicit funds from vendors to support educational activities, but in doing so must follow the School of Medicine’s Vendor Relations Policy and follow the standards and guidelines of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) “Standards for Commercial Support” (if applicable). Vendors may choose to make unrestricted gifts to the Department, or they may provide funds pursuant to an Educational Grant Agreement.
Separately, Departments may choose to offset the cost of these events by offering vendors the opportunity to provide in-kind educational demonstrations of their products during these events, pursuant to an Educational Support Agreement. Departments are responsible for ensuring all that vendors comply with the Vendor Relations Policy during the event, which includes enforcing the prohibitions on vendors giving gifts or trinkets to attendees and distributing promotional materials.
Teaching/Training Agreements
Teaching and Training Agreements allow the School of Medicine faculty and staff to conduct or participate in seminars and presentations, or to provide consultation and support to outside organizations.
Teaching/Training Agreements are typically reviewed and executed by the OPSCA within 5 to 10 business days after receipt of a contract request.
Expert Witness Agreements
Expert Witness Agreements allow School of Medicine faculty members to provide medical legal review and expert testimony. Expert Witness agreements typically spell out the scope and length of the engagement, and are often accompanied by a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). All compensation for expert medical legal review or testimony must be paid to UNCFP and, where applicable, comply with the School of Medicine’s Policy for Clinical Department Faculty Providing Expert Legal Services Testimony. Contracts for these activities must be counter-approved by the CEO of UNC Faculty Physicians and, effective July 1st, 2018, will be subject to a 5.5% tax levied by UNC Faculty Physicians.
Forms agreements for both Expert Witness and BAAs may be obtained by emailing opsca@med.unc.edu. Expert Witness Agreements are typically reviewed and executed by the University within 2 to 5 business days after receipt of a contract request.
Licensing, Certifications, and Supporting Documentation
Supporting documents, licensing applications, and various state and federal certifications that support programs administered by the School of Medicine are generally routed through OPSCA.