Healthcare Law

Michael H. Cohen has pioneered the field of legal issues in integrative health. He served as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Adjunct faculty at Harvard School of [...]

Can indigenous healing systems resolve complex, modern clinical problems such as trauma and PTSD? Answering this question, as part of a larger inquiry into integrative medicine, psychiatrist [...]

Are prompt pay, cash discounts, dual fees legal? In this Part 2, let’s focus on differential payment schemes. When physicians, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and other healthcare providers [...]

When you practice integrative medicine, do you worry about standard of care? Perhaps you’re developing the latest and most beneficial approach. How do you handle liability risk [...]

Are prompt pay, cash discounts, dual fees legal? There are lots of questions and many different variations. Let’s explore a few, focusing on the idea of providing differential services to a [...]

If you’re a successful physician, chiropractor, acupuncturist, or other licensed healthcare provider, and you want to provide overflow patients to another practitioner you hire, is it a kickback [...]

Medical school teaches you a lot of science and clinical skills, but it doesn’t prepare you for the “streets” of legal documentation when you sign your physician contract. Even sophisticated [...]

Substance abuse treatment centers must steer carefully when sending patients for labs. Self-referral, anti-kickback, and fee-splitting rules can create legal enforcement issues and must be [...]

WHEN ESTABLISHING YOUR FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE PRACTICE, YOU’LL BE WADING INTO CLINICAL WATERS THAT ARE OFTEN NAVIGATED BY MANY MEDICAL COLLEAGUES, YET NOT NECESSARILY ADOPTED WITHIN THE MAINSTREAM [...]

FON: When you aren’t managing your practice and giving lectures, you’re practicing yoga. How did you discover integrative medicine and what impact has it had on your early law career and personal [...]

The strange world of the California medical board Fictitious Name Permit inhabits one of those arcane places in healthcare law that many physician clients wonder about. Here's everything you [...]

Do retrospective physician bonuses violate anti-kickback laws? Well they are problematic.

Are online call centers illegally practicing medicine or engaging in kickbacks and fee-splitting?

When Chiropractors work with Medical Doctors, fee-splitting issues arise. This is like Harry met Sally without the New Year's scene.

"Medical director" creates enforcement red flags particularly when medical spas or health care ventures award the title willy-nilly. In this post, we discuss legal pitfalls and offer some legal [...]

When leaving a medical practice, can you take patient records?

Functional medicine is rapidly gaining traction (pardon the pun) among chiropractors, but can chiropractors legally practice functional medicine? Let's look at definitions of functional medicine [...]

Is your medical assistant practicing medicine illegally? Understand the difference between medical assistance and medical practice.

Kudos to integrative medicine consultant Glenn Sabin for his bold post on integrative medicine standard of care - suggesting that integrative health should be the standard against which [...]

Digital health advances set healthcare law on edge because health tech develops exponentially while laws grow linearly.

Legal review of concierge medicine contracts is needed to handle regulatory issues & liability risks, as otherwise medical doctors opening concierge practices risk triggering all sorts of [...]

Is an online directory of healthcare centers a medical referral service? We’ve had several online directories of healthcare services ask us what legal rules govern their operation. Below we [...]

When medical doctors collaborate with other licensed healthcare providers (such as chiropractors) in a multidisciplinary, clinical care or integrative medicine setting, legal risks can arise that [...]

Healthcare bonuses raise fee-splitting and anti-kickback issues; is there a workaround?

Are physician online dietary supplement sales, kickbacks or fee-splitting?

Corporate practice challenges medical management (MSO) organizations, especially in New York AG, as shown by recent enforcement action.

Can the non-licensed healer practice legally, including giving nutritional and weight loss advice?

Where healthcare policy & the future of humanity meet is at the intersection of technology and consciousness.

Here are 4 legal tips for setting up a functional medicine practice. When establishing your functional medicine practice, you'll be wading into clinical waters that are perhaps navigated by many [...]

The Internet of Things (IOT) raises legal and regulatory challenges, mainly in the area of privacy and security.

Healthcare reform and declining Medicare reimbursement have thrown physicians for a financial loop; how can medical doctors increase physician income despite healthcare reform?

Healthcare fraud remains a broad regulatory category that enforcement authorities can use against the manufacturer or distributor of a healthcare product that raises questions in the minds of [...]

P4 medicine takes healthcare to a whole level, requiring deeper understanding of how healthcare & FDA law shape the path to market for your healthcare service or product.

By putting healthcare in the hands of patients, healthcare technology is not only revolutionizing the way we think about medicine, but also the way laws shape personal health.

Whenever you market a healthcare product, beware of potential FDA and FTC enforcement as well as private plaintiffs who can sue for false advertising, unfair competition, deceptive and misleading [...]

When buying, selling, or starting an urgent care center, be sure to handle legal and regulatory pitfalls adroitly.