HEALTHCARE LAW/LITIGATION
We have extensive experience in healthcare law and litigation matters. Many people are uncertain what topics are included in healthcare law. The following list is a partial list of the healthcare law/litigation matters with respect to which our attorneys have represented healthcare law clients:
- physician and dental practice sales and acquisitions to and from hospitals and their affiliates;
- physician and dental practice start-ups, buy-ins, break-ups, and retirements, including practice shareholder/partnership agreements, physician/dentist employment agreements and separation agreements;
- exclusive provider contracts on behalf of hospital-based physicians;
- hospitalist contracts on behalf of hospital-employed physicians;
- policies and procedures implementing HIPAA law and regulations, including privacy and security regulations and Business Associate Agreements;
- evaluating proposed arrangements for compliance with and structuring proposed arrangements to comply with Stark Law self-referral restrictions and Anti-Kickback Law restraints, and other fraud and abuse restrictions;
- Medical Staff issues, including preparation of and amendments to Medical Staff Bylaws, practitioner discipline, compliance with JCAHO standards and issues relating to National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB);
- regulatory and licensing issues, including matters involving the PA Department of Health, the PA Department of Public Welfare and the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the preparation of Plans of Correction.
- clinical trial contracts on behalf of the pharmaceutical product developer;
- matters arising out of the creation and operation of physician owned ambulatory surgical centers, including partnership and shareholder agreements, fraud and abuse issues and matters relating to anesthesia services, licensing, reimbursement, accreditation, among others;
- matters arising out of the operation of nursing, personal care and independent living facilities, including admission agreements and related issues, vendor contracts, tax exempt bond financing, guardianships, and surveys, among others;
- disputes with health insurers and managed care organizations on behalf of providers and beneficiaries;
- medical director and independent contractor agreements;
- guardianship proceedings on behalf of health care facilities;
- litigation relating to enforcement of covenants not to compete and other separation issues;
- defense of health care providers in malpractice proceedings;
- severance arrangements for hospital non-physician personnel;
- reimbursement issues, including for example, questions relating to CPT codes and supervision requirements; and
- defense of licensed practitioners in licensing board disciplinary proceedings.
Mark D. Aurand is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association ("AHLA"). As a member of AHLA, Mark reviews on a daily basis the latest information on breaking developments in healthcare law, including developments arising from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (the healthcare reform law, also known as the PPACA and the Affordable Care Act), and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (known as the HITECH Act) and their implementing regulations (both proposed and final), including by way of example only, the proposed regulations for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) under the PPACA and the proposed regulations concerning the accounting of disclosures of electronic health records (or EHRs) under the HITECH Act.
Our understanding of healthcare law is also enhanced by several of our attorneys having served with healthcare organizations as follows:
Dennis M. McCarthy:
Easton Hospital - in-house counsel "on loan"
Mark D. Aurand:
Former Member Phoebe Home Ethics Committee
Former Member VNA of Eastern, PA, Inc. Ethics Committee
