Dental Law Blog | The Health Law Firm Blog

Dentists and Dental Hygienists Beware: Know Who Actually Owns Your Clinic

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Florida has long been a state that does not prohibit the corporate practice of medicine, unlike many other states. However, it does prohibit the corporate practice of dentistry. The key provision in Florida law that establishes this is Section 466.028, Florida Statutes, but the Florida Board of Dentistry has adopted administrative rules on this topic as well.

What this means is that any corporation (or other type of business entity) that owns or operates a dental practice, under Florida law, must be one solely owned by and controlled by dentists. In this context, the […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:11-04:00May 15, 2018|Dental Law Blog|

Dentists File Lawsuits Against Supply Distributors Alleging Violations of Antitrust Statues

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Several dentists have joined together to file suits against leading dental supply distributors in New York and Texas federal courts alleging the companies jointly conspired to keep prices artificially inflated. Five lawsuits have been filed since Wednesday, January 20, 2016, against Patterson Cos. Inc. (Patterson), Henry Schein Inc. (Henry Schein) and Benco Dental Supply Co. (Benco). These companies are alleged to have control over 80 percent of the distribution channel for dental supplies. Among other allegations, lawsuits allege that the established dental supply distributors schemed to intimidate and squelch newer distributors that offer better (lower) prices […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:13-04:00May 15, 2018|Dental Law Blog|

Health Care Providers: PLEASE Talk to an Attorney Before You Talk to an Investigator!

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

At The Health Law firm, we often receive calls from new clients and from potential clients, after they have already spoken to and made critical harmful admissions against their own interests to investigators. It is imperative to know that in Florida, you do not have any duty to cooperate with any investigator who is investigating you. This extends to Department of Health (DOH) investigators (who are sometimes titled “Medical Quality Assurance Investigators” or “Medical Malpractice Investigators”), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agents, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, or criminal investigators of any type.

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By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:14-04:00May 15, 2018|Dental Law Blog|

Illinois Hospital Chain Pays Record $5.5 Million HIPAA Settlement For Privacy Breaches

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On August 4, 2016, one of Illinois’ largest hospital chains agreed to pay $5.5 million in settlement for lax data security and breaches of protected health information for millions of patients. This deal is a record payout under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), federal regulators said.

Advocate Health Care Network (Advocate), which operates 12 hospitals and hundreds of satellite locations in Illinois, agreed to the payout in connection with three separate data breaches that compromised the records of 4 million individuals at a medical group subsidiary. The affected private patient data included clinical […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:15-04:00May 15, 2018|Dental Law Blog|

Accused Dental Supply Manufacturers Argue Antitrust Suit Belongs In Arbitration

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On March 21, 2017, accused dental suppliers in an antitrust suit told the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that a Texas federal judge was wrong to override an arbitration agreement. The antitrust suit involves a dental supply manufacturer as a plaintiff. It accused six others of unfairly pushing it out of the market. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap overturned a magistrate’s decision to send the case to arbitration. But the six suppliers argued that the district court judge improperly relied on unspecified injunctive relief which is only a minor part of the case.

Does the Case […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:19-04:00May 15, 2018|Dental Law Blog|

What You Need to Know About Preparing and Responding to an Initial Medicaid Audit Request

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Health care providers in Florida who service Medicaid patients are at a higher risk for audits than anywhere else in the country. The unfortunate truth is that Florida has become synonymous with health care fraud. As a result, auditing and subsequent overpayment demands are very real possibilities.

The Health Law Firm and its legal professionals represent health care providers in virtually every aspect of Medicaid program audits, investigations and litigation. These include physicians, medical groups, mental health professionals, pharmacies, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospitals and other health facilities.

Facts You Should Know About the Medicaid Audit […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:20-04:00May 15, 2018|Dental Law Blog|

What is the corporate practice of optometry and what does it prohibit?

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

The legal doctrine called the “corporate practice of medicine or optometry” actually refers to the legal prohibition that prevents a doctor or an optometrist from working for a corporation (or other business entity) that is owned, operated or controlled by non-physicians or, in the case of optometrists, non-optometrists.

In the context of such laws, the term “non-physician” or “non-optometrist” almost always refers to one who is not licensed in the same state as the practice. Such prohibitions are entirely subject to each state’s laws. Some states have statutes that prohibit the corporate practice of a profession. […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:20-04:00May 15, 2018|Dental Law Blog|

Florida Gov. Rick Scott Makes Changes to Florida Impaired Practitioners Program

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On May 31, 2017, Florida Governor, Rick Scott, signed into law House Bill 229 (Ch. 2017-41, Laws of Florida), which made changes to the statutory basis for Florida’s impaired practitioner programs. The impaired practitioner program for nurses in Florida is the Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN), which is a for-profit corporation, The impaired practitioner program for doctors, dentists, pharmacists, optometrists, and all other licensed health professionals is the Professionals Resource Network (PRN), a non-profit corporation.

The program, as envisioned in the statute, is designed to assist health care practitioners who […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:21-04:00May 15, 2018|Dental Law Blog|

Responding to a Medicaid Audit: Important Tips You Should Know

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), Office of Inspector General (OIG), Bureau of Medicaid Program Integrity, is the Florida agency responsible for routine audits of Medicaid health care providers. Each state has a similar state agency, though it may have a different name. The agency’s job is to ensure that the Medicaid Program was properly billed for services. Health care professionals receiving large payments from Medicaid or who practice in areas that typically see the most abuse or fraudulent billings, are the ones most likely to be audited. These include pediatricians, Ob/Gyns, family practice physicians […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:21-04:00May 15, 2018|Dental Law Blog|

The 20 Major Mistakes Physicians Make After Being Notified of a Department of Health Investigation

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

The investigation of a complaint which could lead to the revocation of a physician’s license to practice, usually starts with a simple letter from the Department of Health (DOH). This is a very serious legal matter and it should be treated as such by the physician who receives it. Yet, in many cases, attorneys are consulted by physicians after the entire investigation is over and the damage is already done. Often, the mistakes that have been made severely compromise an attorney’s ability to achieve a favorable result for the physician.

These are the ten biggest mistakes […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:21-04:00May 15, 2018|Dental Law Blog|