Legal Scrubs

Unless a doctor starts his/her own practice, then every doctor coming out of residency is going to be faced with a new and incredibly important milestone experience--being asked to sign an employment agreement with the hospital or medical group that will that doctor's new employer. One of the most significant provisions that almost certainly will be in that employment agreement is a non-compete pr...

If you're a physician with an independent medical practice, there's a good chance that you have at least one or more employees on your staff and that you have a written personnel manual or written employee policies and procedures. If so, then you should listen to today's podcast to learn 4 specific and actionable tips that you should take right now to possibly avoid an employment law problem when...

What should a health professional do when he or she gets an online review of the practice is negative and damaging to the practice's reputation? More and more prospective patients check out online reviews before deciding on which doctor or dentist to see for their medical or dental services. So, it can be very damaging for a medical or dental practice to deal with negative online reviews from pati...

One of the first decisions that physicians who have made the important decision to establish their own independent and entrepreneurial medical practice must make is this--what form of legal entity is the best choice for the new practice that is being started? Facts and circumstances vary from one medical practice to another, and so the decision is not one than can be made in a vacuum or with a coo...

Many businesses have had to close during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although physicians and their practices are essential during this time, many doctors in private practice have also seen a decline in the number of patients visiting their practices, particularly if their medical practices provide more elective treatments and procedures. Just like other small business owners, physicians in private prac...

The new CARES Act includes a new SBA loan program for small businesses called the Paycheck Protection Program. Among the small businesses that can possibly benefit from PPP are small independent medical practices. Listen to today's episode of Legal Scrubs to find out more about how PPP might be of interest to your medical practice.

Doctors in private practice are experiencing the same challenges all small businesses are during this trying time. But the new CARES Act recently signed into law provides an important benefit to physicians whose practices include Medicare patients. Physicians can request advance or accelerated payments from CMS for Medicare patients they won't even see or treat until late summer this year. And pay...

Doctors are busy, but they need to take some time to think about estate planning and what they should do to protect their loved ones. Taxes, asset protection, titling assets the right way, and business succession for medical practices--these are points that doctors need to know about.  

The Department of HHS' Office for Civil Rights recently entered into a settlement agreement with a solo physician in private practice in Utah. The gastroenterologist paid a settlement amount to the government of $100,000 to settle alleged and potential HIPAA violations. This case arose originally out of a business dispute between the doctor and a subcontractor of his EHR company, and it demonstrat...

In today's Wall Street Journal, there were two stories about development in the business of medicine that all medical students and primary care doctors need to know about. One is a development in the bankruptcy case involving Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia and how that bankruptcy affects the residents there and their payment of malpractice insurance premiums. The other is the trend of health i...

Doctors must take special care when negotiating their employment agreements to make sure that they fully understand the provision dealing with tail coverage. And if possible, doctors should try to have their employers bear the expense of tail coverage. This podcast discusses the basics of tail coverage and what doctors should consider in their negotiations with their employers.

A recent settlement between the Office for Civil Rights and a university medical center involving the payment of $3 million and the establishment of a corrective action plan following the loss of an unencrypted flash drive and the theft of an unencrypted laptop used by a medical resident highlights a number of important lessons that all private healthcare practices should keep in mind to stay out...

Dentists and their dental practices must use caution when they post on social media or respond to online reviews. Just this week, the Office for Civil Rights entered into a Resolution Agreement with a dental practice in Dallas arising out of an alleged violation of HIPAA resulting from a response to a patient's online review. This episode of Legal Scrubs discusses this recent case and provides a h...

Branding has become increasingly important to health professionals in private practice. With more and more people turning to social media platforms and the internet to find out about who they're seeking out for healthcare services, doctors and dentists need to take seriously the need to brand their practices and differentiate themselves from other professionals in their markets. Trademark protecti...