Articles Posted in Improving Your Practice

Our healthcare and business law firm works with many providers and medical practices to ensure compliance with state and federal laws, rules, and regulations.  Mid-level providers, such as physician assistants (“PAs”) and nurse practitioners, are widely used, and they help expand the provision of medical care and services. States differ on the amount of oversight that is required for PAs to practice.  This blog post outlines possible requirements that may be present in your state for PAs to practice under physician supervision, using Georgia as an example.  If you need assistance understanding your state’s guidance on mid-level supervision and delegation requirements or would like to discuss this blog post, you may contact our healthcare and business law firm at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@littlehealthlaw.com. You may also learn more about our law firm by visiting www.littlehealthlaw.com.

In Georgia, the rules governing PAs and their supervising physician include the following:

First, the Supervisory Relationship Must be Established:

Under Georgia Rule 360-5-.03, in order to supervise a PA, a supervising physician must submit an application to the Board that must be approved by the Board before delegating tasks. On the flip side, upon termination of the supervisory relationship, the PA and physician must give notice and date of termination. Continue reading ›

Our healthcare and business law firm assists many physicians and other healthcare professionals who are dealing with professionalism concerns.  Concerns can be identified by employers, licensing boards, professionalism societies, or even all three at once.  Over the years, our firm has helped providers deal with various professionalism concerns identified by their employers and/or licensing boards.  This post identifies some of the most common concerns we have seen.  The goal of this post is to provide useful information that healthcare professionals can use to make more informed professionalism decisions.  If you need assistance dealing with a professionalism concern or would like to discuss this blog post, you may contact our healthcare and business law firm at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@littlehealthlaw.com. You may also learn more about our law firm by visiting www.littlehealthlaw.com.

Social Media Use

Inappropriate social media use is a big problem for all professionals.  Given, however, the sensitive and confidential information surrounding all aspects of a healthcare professional’s job, all information shared online should be heavily vetted. Continue reading ›

Our healthcare and business law firm often represents medical practices, including primary care practices, specialty practices, med spas, and IV hydration clinics, in the initial set up phase of the business.  Related to questions about the Corporate Practice of Medicine (“CPOM”), a common question we are asked is: “Do I need an MSO”?  This is not always an easy question to answer.  There are many reasons why an MSO may be a useful tool for your practice.  For instance, it may reduce the risk of violating your state’s CPOM doctrine, it may increase regulatory compliance, or it may assist you in exit planning.  This post specifically focuses on how MSOs may be useful in the context of the CPOM doctrine.  If you have medical practice set up or CPOM/MSO questions or would like to discuss this blog post, you may contact our healthcare and business law firm at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@littlehealthlaw.com. You may also learn more about our law firm by visiting www.littlehealthlaw.com.

Two facts about MSOs and Med Spas:

Fact 1:     Most med spas and IV hydration clinics offer services defined as the practice of medicine and, thus if there’s a CPOM doctrine in your state, it’s likely triggered.

If you own a med spa or IV hydration clinic, I can almost guarantee you are offering services that are considered the practice of medicine. Continue reading ›

Our healthcare and business law firm often represents medical practices, including primary care practices, specialty practices, and med spas, in employment matters.  At some point, each medical practice deals with the situation where an employee becomes unable to perform due to an injury or prolonged illness.  For instance, an esthetician breaks her hand and can no longer perform essential services of her position.  Or a staff member has a serious illness that requires them to stay home for three weeks.  Our medical practice clients are always sympathetic and want to take care of their employees, but they also have to balance that interest against the interest of running a business.  That leads them to ask us: What should I do?  This post provides four considerations for a medical practice if an employee is unable to perform due to an injury or illness.  If you have employment questions or would like to discuss this blog post, you may contact our healthcare and business law firm at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@littlehealthlaw.com. You may also learn more about our law firm by visiting www.littlehealthlaw.com.

1. If the injury happened on the job, does your workers compensation policy provide a benefit? 

Workers’ compensation requirements differ state to state. Continue reading ›