Consulting legal counsel to review a physician’s employment agreement before a dispute arises may increase a doctor’s negotiating power and help obtain better working conditions. Employment agreements contain many provisions, which may include: compensation arrangements, arbitration clauses, terms defining the scope of liability insurance, and non-compete agreements. As physicians in…
Little Health Law is a proud affiliate of the CSRA Medical Group Management Association. Lee Little was honored to present as July’s featured speaker on Healthy Medical Practice Management: Legal, Risk and Compliance Considerations. Ms. Little shared considerations for medical practice managers in meeting current challenges in the healthcare business…
As the opioid epidemic continues to cause death and create economic hardships within the nation, criminal prosecutors and law enforcement agents have increased their focus on prosecuting and pursuing severe penalties against doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare providers as a deterrent for providers who would prescribe opioids in excess.…
Legislation controlling self-referrals has created a complex road map that can leave doctors with questions regarding their ability to use business agreements to promote lab work and advanced imaging technology for their patients. For physicians, the rules and regulations of self-referrals for imaging can create headaches and lead to fines.…
This month, the abrupt closing of four Tennessee pain management clinics under investigation for state and federal health insurance fraud made headlines. Those clinics, formerly affiliated with PainMD and rebranded as Rinova, closed last week. Federal authorities alleged that PainMD and its parent company inflated profits by providing patients with…
The Trend: Mandatory Arbitration As a physician employee, you might be aware of the “arbitration agreement” that you signed with your employer upon your hiring. In the employment context, an arbitration agreement may in the view of your employer be a more efficient way to privately resolve legal disputes associated…
The exposure and concern surrounding the opioid epidemic is at an all time high. Notwithstanding the urgency of the issue itself, this publicity places increased pressure on the intervening parties—sub-agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice (DOJ) and state Attorney’s General—to implement regimens that make…
In 2017, the Georgia General Assembly passed House Bill 249, implementing several changes to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (“PDMP”). Bill 249 held that: Beginning July 1, 2017, dispensers are required to enter prescription information for schedule II, III, IV, V controlled substances within 24 hours. This will give prescribers…
The highly anticipated “AseraCare” decision (United States v. GGSNC Admin. Serv. LLC) is still pending before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The court is considering “whether a mere difference of opinion between physicians, without more, is enough to establish falsity under the False Claims Act.” To provide some context,…
Of the “fraud and abuse” laws, the three decades old Ethics in Patient Referrals Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1395nn, dubbed “Stark Law” after Congressmen Pete Stark who sponsored it, can often be the most challenging to properly interpret and apply, easily leading to head scratching. The law as originally enacted…