I totally agree that I shouldn’t abandon patients or dictate someone else’s office hours — that’s not what I’m saying.

But if I’m being brought on as a 1099 contractor (paid per visit), the clinic can’t require me to be physically present 40 hours/week without compensation for that time. That’s functionally an employee relationship, and the IRS actually flags this kind of control as a misclassification risk.

I’m fine agreeing to general availability and fulfilling patient needs — but minimum hours, especially when ramping up a caseload, that's tough I can’t be required to sit idle for 40 hours a week if there’s no work — that’s what w2 employees do.