Welcome to the first of our holiday-themed (at least in title) blog posts. As we approach the holidays at the conclusion of a financially challenging year, cost savings may be on the minds of many healthcare business owners. Healthcare employers may be considering—or have already considered—measures to save money and…
Articles Posted in Physician Practices
What Are Your Options When a Negative Reference Costs You a Job?
Your reputation as a medical provider is a commodity you must protect, especially regarding your aptitude for providing patient care. Of course, you may not be a perfect fit at every medical practice. When that happens, your employment may end, and you seek other employment. No harm, no foul. But…
Georgia Schools and Businesses Post Warning Signs to Avoid Liability Under COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act
As Georgia schools and other businesses respond to open and operate safely in the face of the COVID-19 Pandemic, many are posting warning signs consistent with a new law in the state passed to protect them from liability. Georgia-based Business and Healthcare Law Firm This summer, Georgia joined many other…
Flattening the Curve Through Telemedicine
Telemedicine has new and profound importance due to the COVID-19 crisis. “Virtual” healthcare preserves patient protective equipment that would otherwise be used and allows physicians to manage chronic illnesses remotely, without the in-person interaction that exposes provider and patient to the risk of spread. This increased reliance on telemedicine has prompted…
THE METEORIC RISE IN IMPORTANCE OF TELEMEDICINE
As patients, naturally we intend to go to the doctor to get well. But there is a catch 22. What if the trip to the doctor or the emergency room to be made well might cause us to get sick, or more sick? Or what if we make the doctor…
To Compete or Not to Compete?
As a business and healthcare litigation firm focused exclusively on advising and representing health care providers, we work virtually every day with contracts that involve non-compete agreements and other forms of restrictive covenants. Almost all physician employment, for example, will involve a physician employment agreement that contains a restrictive covenant. …
Employment Litigation Update
Because our healthcare law firm often handles employment-related disputes and litigation (for employers and employees alike), we follow developing trends in employment litigation. Employment discrimination lawsuits continue to make headlines in the healthcare industry. Between 2018 and 2019, numerous allegations regarding doctors, nurses, and administrative staff have resulted in litigation…
Improving Patient Access to Healthcare in Rural Areas
Providing access to high quality services to patients in rural areas is an ongoing challenge in the U.S. Throughout our country, a large percentage of citizens living in rural areas are less healthy than their peers in urban areas, as rural citizens lack access to healthcare providers in their small…
When a Doctor Needs a Lawyer: Non-Compete Agreements and Restrictive Covenants
Consulting legal counsel to review a physician’s employment agreement before a dispute arises may increase a doctor’s negotiating power and help obtain better working conditions. Employment agreements contain many provisions, which may include: compensation arrangements, arbitration clauses, terms defining the scope of liability insurance, and non-compete agreements. As physicians in…
Opioids: Physician Liability
As the opioid epidemic continues to cause death and create economic hardships within the nation, criminal prosecutors and law enforcement agents have increased their focus on prosecuting and pursuing severe penalties against doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare providers as a deterrent for providers who would prescribe opioids in excess.…