Medicine & the Law

The physician may not only be subject to additional litigation by being joined in a suit or sued after a final determination of vicarious liability on the part of the HMO, but may also find himself/herself without the protection of insurance.

Physicians who have had claims denied or recoupment demanded by Blue Shield have the right now to initiate litigation in the physician’s local county court.

The exercise of "without cause" termination rights is truly a double-edged sword for managed care organizations and practitioners alike.

Once you decide to leave, time is your enemy. You need to be making plans now to transition your practice.

In determining whether non-compete agreements are legally enforceable, physicians would do well to consider the following six basic considerations.

Maintaining the confidentiality of health information should not impede progress towards the development of a system within which health information may be effectively exchanged.

Some forms of physician collaboration are permissible under antitrust law when negotiating with payers, but must be adhered to in practice and not just on paper.

Through a properly structured PSO, providers can now directly undertake Medicare risk contracts. In reality, it seems likely that few if any PSOs will be capable of exploiting this opportunity

According to the definition of a diagnosis, when nurses use a computer checklist to determine the nature and extent of a medical problem, they are identifying an illness and giving medical advice

Lack of appropriate supervision not only results in potential tort liability of the practice, but also affects reimbursement for services provided by the physician assistant.