The American College of Physicians (ACP) recently released an informative policy position paper that assesses how “concierge” and similar direct pay health care arrangements between doctors and patients impact patient care. Our Georgia business and healthcare law firm follows developments in the healthcare industry that affect physicians, medical practices and…
Articles Posted in Physician Practices
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals: A violation of AKS or Stark Law cannot be used to prove state law claims against a competitor for statutory unfair competition and common law
This litigation involves claims of unfair competition and tortious interference under nine different states’ laws, where the claims are based, in part, upon alleged violations of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b(b), and Stark law (“Stark”), 42 U.S.C. § 1395nn(a). Our Georgia business and healthcare law firm…
The Continuing Trend of Physician Employment
A recent survey by search agency The Medicus Firm shows steady continuation of the national trend toward employment of physicians. In representing employers and employees, our Georgia physician practice law firm follows physician employment trends and issues. According to the Medicus survey results, the vast majority of physicians hired in…
Majority of Georgia Hospitals Face Medicare Penalties
About two-thirds of Georgia hospitals can expect to be fined for excessive Medicare readmissions, according to a recent article in the Atlanta Journal. According to our Georgia business and healthcare law firm’s research, this places Georgia hospitals well above the national average of 54% of hospitals facing similar fines. The…
FRAUD DOESN’T PAY: HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS BEWARE CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES LAW
Physicians and other healthcare providers and businesses who seek to stay in the center of the court and avoid fraud allegations often inquire of our Georgia business and healthcare law firm about the applicability of STARK (civil statute) or the Federal Anti-kickback (criminal) statute to particular circumstances or transactions. While…
False Claims Act Compliance: 16 Hospitals to Pay $15.69 Million to Resolve Allegations of Medically Unnecessary Psychotherapy Services
By: Lee H. Little Health Care providers evaluating billing compliance for psychotherapy services should take caution from a recent multi-million dollar settlement under the federal False Claims Act involving allegedly unnecessary intensive outpatient psychotherapy (IOP) services. Georgia Healthcare Law Firm According to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) press release, the…
Medicare Fraud Indictment of Ophthalmologist
As Medicare fraud schemes continue to bilk federal taxpayers of billions of dollars, federal law enforcement continues to push diligently to identify and prosecute Medicare fraud. Because of the importance to federal law enforcement of ferreting out healthcare fraud schemes, it is critical for all healthcare providers and healthcare businesses…
FMLA Litigation: A Rising Tide Large Healthcare Employers Face
Hospital systems and other large healthcare providers face increasing risks associated with noncompliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as FMLA litigation is on the rise. According to Law360, FMLA litigation tripled in one year (from 2012 to 2013). Our Georgia business and healthcare law firm has litigated…
Cell Phones and Medical Malpractice
Post by Guest Author: Gyalia Rutledge RN, LNC Attorneys are increasingly becoming aware of distractions caused by cell phones, tablets and other technology in the clinical setting and how they play a role in medical malpractice cases. In fact, attorneys are now advertising statistics about “Distracted Doctors” on their website…
ICD-10 Implementation: What To Do Now
Post by Guest Author: Robert F. Polglase, MD, JD, CHCQM On Wednesday February 11, 2015 the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on healthcare held its much-awaited hearing on ICD-10 implementation, scheduled for October 1, 2015. Since the implementation delay last year, many providers have slowed down or stopped their…