[Today we were at the Southern California State of Reform Health policy conference where Michael H. Cohen and was a featured speaker on the panel for legal and compliance threats to Health Care organizations.]

[We’re here with Michael H. Cohen, and now so could you tell us a little bit please about the subjects that came up in the discussion on the panel and what was said?]

Definitely. So we were talking about the many, many challenges the compliance threats that are facing Health Care entities, Health Care clinicians, and Healthcare organizations.  One of the things that I showed is a slide showing the many, many possible threats that are underway from FDA, FTC, Medical Board, attorney general, state district attorney. City attorneys are now jumping into the act and there’s so many regulatory bodies, there’s so many different areas of law that apply.  I mean one thing that I also got from my fellow panel members is that the healthcare regulatory environment is, it’s really a swamp, it’s not like this pristine waterfall here you seen me on this beautiful green screen, this beautiful green nature shot here keeping my head above water, the regulatory Waters. And you know a lot of people are treading water because there’s just so much complexity, there’s so many rules and if you get them wrong, the stakes are so high, the penalties are so Draconian, the cost of a violation is so steep, one of the presenters was saying that even if you at the font size wrong, or you get a semicolon out of place, that they’ll reject a whole application and send it back, and you can lose your accreditation, you could lose your license to practice medicine, you could lose your certification, you could lose your ability to operate, and so you have to be aware of all these threats and all these opportunities as well because as regulation unfolds their new market.

So to give an example I spoke about telemedicine and the requirement that the good faith exam in many cases is silently slipping away, and statutes regulations policy statements are springing into existence like Athena from the head of Zeus or, like you know Quantum particles out of the infinite Cosmic reality which is coming from legislators who are expressing the industry preference to lower and lower the bar to delivering Health Care, delivering Medical Care.

And so while there are some conservative elements calling for more scrutiny and more regulation, there also industry voices calling for more liberalization, and this is all being battled out of the political domains, the result of which we get legislation, we get regulation, or we get enforcement, and those tip the scales the calculus the risk management calculus. So, for example, in California we’ve had this liberalization, where now the statute actually says that you can prescribe without necessarily having the exam a questionnaire is sufficient ideally with some other legal and Regulatory controls and quality assurance controls.

The kicker is, you’re still behold into standard of care so the medical board can come in and did in the case of in re homes come in and assert its Authority, and say that standard of care was not followed, and therefore there was a disciplinary action. Now many Physicians enter the telemedicine field unawares the companies that sponsor them into telemedicine, do not necessarily completely informed them nor do they protect the Physicians interest. And so we represent both Physicians and companies. We’re on both sides and I have a background in policy, and so you know, I have a real practical boots on the ground perspective, as well as the policy wonk theoretical, conceptual, framework from my days on faculty at Harvard Medical School. And all of this gives us a beautiful perspective to inform, educate, guide, advise, counsel, set the feet on the right path up the Slippery Rock slope for those in the healthcare industry that are pushing the envelope… be a telemedicine, be it medical spas, be it medical devices, Cosmetics, dietary supplements, medical practices, digital Health Care, mobile Healthcare, e-Healthcare. All the forms by which health and wellness is being productized, commoditized brought to your doorstep, brought to your fingers tips, literally brought to your smart glasses for your contact lenses, literally putting your eyeballs in the intent in touch with the new health care.

That’s what I spoke about today, and that’s what’s coming down the pike, and that’s where we assist our clients, and there’s a lot more work to be done because it’s regulation intensifies even with liberalization, there’s always something to pay attention to, and we help people pay attention to that and that in turn helps people deliver more health and wellness to the consumer, and that creates a better world, a better Society. That’s why we do what we do.

Oh, I’m Michael H Cohen, Cohen Healthcare Law Group. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you today from my Sunny Fortress of San Diego peacefulness and Retreat, and look forward to speaking with you soon.

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