A Medical Justice member recently asked a simple question with a complicated answer: “If CMS pulls my billing, am I ‘excluded’? And is that the same as the Medicare preclusion list?” Close cousins, not identical twins. Here’s the field guide I wish more practices kept on the bulletin board. Quick Definitions in Plain English OIG … Read more
I get more than my fair share of calls from doctors expressing buyer’s remorse. They sold their practice to private equity (PE). They may have received a large check, with the expectation of more money down the road, if they can stay the course. Or they may have received a small check and lots of … Read more
I occasionally get calls from physicians in the middle of litigation, asking whether they can shield vulnerable assets in the event they lose their professional liability case. Such doctors may not have professional liability coverage. Or they may be underinsured, for example, having limits of $200k or $250k. Or they may want their day in … Read more
It’s difficult for doctors to prevail in defamation lawsuits against patients who post nasty online reviews. It’s not impossible. Just difficult. To prevail, the doctor must demonstrate the statement was false, disseminated to an audience, and damaged reputation. Finally, if the court rules it was not a false statement, just an opinion, the doctor will … Read more
A medical group sends over a “standard” agreement. Buried mid-paragraph is one sentence that could turn a routine credentialing hiccup into a personal bankruptcy event. I’m talking about indemnification language. Harmless at first glance. Radioactive in practice. What is indemnification? Indemnification is a contractual obligation where one party (the indemnitor) agrees to compensate the other … Read more
Physicians are territorial with honorifics. A patient hears “Dr. Smith” and silently fills in the rest—medical school, residency, board certification. That assumption sits at the center of a fresh federal ruling in California. On September 19, 2025, a federal judge in the Central District of California upheld the state’s long-standing restriction on using “doctor”/“Dr.” in … Read more
The following request occasionally pops up. “You took care of my wife. She recently passed away. Can I have a copy of her records?” HIPAA survives death. For 50 years. The HIPAA Privacy Rule protects the individually identifiable health information about a decedent for 50 years following the date of death of the individual. This … Read more
The Guardian reported on a British healthcare provider who left an operation to quickly have sex. The newspaper named the randy provider as Dr. Suhail Anjum, a “consultant anesthetist.” Dr. Suhail Anjum, 44, and the unnamed nurse were caught in a “compromising position” by a colleague who walked in on the pair at Tameside hospital. … Read more
On January 27, 2026, a joint communication from the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia alerted its members. Recent communications from South American anesthesia societies describe healthy adult and pediatric patients of Venezuelan ancestry who have had unexpected catastrophic outcomes, including severe neurologic damage with basal ganglia infarcts and death, after … Read more
Dr. David Diffine, an Arkansas family physician, was also known as “Dr. Naturist.” In January 2024, the Arkansas State Medical Board received a complaint regarding his “naturist activities”—namely, photo posts of himself nude on social media. The board took no immediate action, choosing instead to preserve the documentation on file. 2025 – License Revocation What … Read more
