Can you prescribe for family? What happens if a payer demands a refund three years later? Our Legal Blogs tackle routine yet critical issues—self-prescribing, contract renewals, sham peer review defenses, and medical record ownership—using real complaints, board orders, and court opinions as teaching tools.
When an appellate court clarifies peer-review immunity or a state supreme court limits punitive damages, we translate the opinion into practical next steps: adjust bylaws language, revisit informed-consent language, or refine incident-reporting practices. Posts avoid dense legalese and focus on how rulings might influence documentation, credentialing, and professional liability.
From negotiating call-coverage stipends to spotting restrictive non-compete clauses, articles guide physicians through employment and partnership contracts. We also examine corporate-practice-of-medicine rules, covering management-service agreements, fee-splitting prohibitions, and telemedicine ownership structures.
The blog discusses board investigations stemming from social-media missteps, substance-use allegations, and documentation irregularities. We help physicians respond promptly, assemble supportive records, and protect due-process rights.
Expect discussions of Stark, Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbors, Medicare enrollment revocations, and false-claims liability—presented with examples relevant to office-based specialists and hospital-employed physicians alike.
Patients may be unhappy with their doctor for a variety of reasons. Dialogue solves most of them. But, sometimes this angst escalates. It culminates in a threat. All threats are not equal in the eyes of the law. A common threat is “Give me my money back and I will not slam you online.” Or … Read more
A famous US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once opined on obscenity: “I know it when I see it.” The Maryland Board of Medicine weighed in on whether it was unprofessional to write a prescription for a patient at a restaurant / bar. Excerpts from the legal case tell the tale. On October 1, 2012, … Read more
First, let’s discuss the difference between a service animal and a therapy animal. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are … Read more
Ebola is making a comeback in Africa. Fortunately, the World Health Organization is on top of it. Further, vaccines are being distributed. Hopefully these vaccines will prove safe and efficacious. Which brings me to Coming Attractions Bride and Formal in Ohio. “Coming Attractions” went out of business. They sued a Texas Hospital for their economic … Read more
When you vote, supporters for a candidate carrying leaflets and signs have to stay outside of some defined perimeter. You’re not supposed to be pestered as you walk into the voting booth. And, there are billboards of personal injury attorneys not too far from hospitals. But, you’d never see an ad for a personal injury … Read more
Imagine you received a request for records from a medical malpractice attorney. Not a good start to your day. But, the clock is ticking. The statute of limitations is about to run. If the clock runs out, you’re home free. (Actually, not always the case, since the statute of limitations is an affirmative defense. You … Read more
We have previously written about medico-legal challenges related to brain death determination. The American Academy of Neurology updated its guidelines in 2010 to create more uniform determination. Its checklist is as below. There’s a checklist related to systemic information (eg: the patient is in a coma, systolic blood pressure or body temperature are not abnormally low). There’s a checklist … Read more
Not too long ago, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled on a case called in re Cassanda C. The case dealt with a mature minor; someone not quite 18, but close, and whether they are entitled to make their own medical decisions. If any reader has teenage children, you will readily appreciate they can be headstrong. … Read more
It’s been said the only thing certain in life is death and taxes. Tax rates vary by state. And, what may come as a surprise to many doctors, the definition of death (or how someone is declared dead) is not uniform across all 50 states. A little background. For centuries, death was straightforward. It was … Read more
While the issue has been fluid, as of the date this post was penned, the Icelandic parliament was considering a bill to outlaw male circumcision for nonmedical reasons. The bill, introduced […] by four political parties, uses the same wording as a 2005 Icelandic law banning female genital mutilation, changing the word “girls” to “children,” Silja Dogg Gunnarsdottir of the centrist Progressive … Read more
