ABA Section of Business Law

IS MEDICINE HEADED FOR AN ASSEMBLY LINE?: EXPLORING THE DOCTRINE OF THE UNAUTHORIZED CORPORATE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE
By GEORGE F. INDEST III and BARBARA A. EGOLF
Is there really a possibility that an appendix could be removed on an assembly line in the future? Not really, say the authors. But still, lawyers should be aware of the doctrine about unauthorized corporate practice of medicine. If doctors have just become pawns in the chess game of business -- corporate employees -- can they exercise independent judgment?

GETTING A JUMP ON THE JARGON: BEWARE GAG CLAUSES ON IDS
By SMEETA S. RISHI
There are new terms of art in the practice of medicine. Any lawyer dealing with medical clients, be they independents or members of a large health-care organization, must know how to speak the language. The author provides a glossary of terms.

MINDING THE FUTURE: HOW TO ADVISE ON DURABLE POWERS OF ATTORNEY
By B. KYLE CHILDRESS
What is involved in advance directives for future health-care contingencies? Durable powers of attorney allows the patient to designate someone to make decisions on their behalf in the future. These documents became more common after the Supreme Court's Cruzan decision. The agent is authorized to make any medical decision that the patient could not otherwise make. The author gives suggestions on drafting the proper form.

IT'S ALL THERE IN BLACK AND WHITE: FIGURING OUT THE VARIOUS MANAGED-CARE PLANS: WHAT SHOULD THE EMPLOYER'S CONTRACT COVER?
By CHARLES S. DeROUSIE
You're a business lawyer advising a company on how to word its health-care plan that it provides for its employees. What should the contract cover? What's the difference between the different forms in the health industry? What should the company do when changing from one plan to another? The author looks at HMO's, preferred provider organizations, point-of-service plans, employer-funded plans, etc.

WHEN EAST MEETS WEST: BUYING, SELLING AND MERGING MEDICAL PRACTICES
By LEIGH WALTON and PATRICIA T. MEADOR
Let's say we have two mythical medical organizations: East Group and West Group. They want to merge. What are the legal implications and complications? Business lawyers representing the sellers or buyers need to know certain things about such deals regarding taxes, choice of entity, licenses, valuation, malpractice insurance, benefit plans, etc. The authors lay out what you need to know.

WHEN THE BOTTOM LINE LOOKS TOO FAMILIAR: HEALTH CARE AND ANTITRUST LAW
By DAVID A. WESTRUP
The author leads off with a tale of three Tucson dentists accusing of price fixing. Then he summarizes the main federal anti-trust laws and touches on state law also. He warns that the government is very interested in anything that smacks of price fixing by health-care professionals and what lawyers should do about it.

WHITE COATS, DARK DEEDS: ACCOUNTABILITY VS. FRAUD
By ROBERT J. PRISTAVE and ELIZABETH BIRT
Health-care systems need corporate-compliance programs so that there is some form of accountability buit in to the providing of services. The program should be an ethical guidebook for the organization. The author also discusses federal sentencing guidelines and shows how the government is serious about health-care fraud.

REFERRAL? WHAT REFERRAL?: THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF INDUCEMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS IN HEALTH CARE
By STEPHEN H. SIEGEL
When counseling clients, health-care providers need to remember about the possiblity of fraud and abuse. The federal government takes great interest in this area and prohibits abusive practices, particularly in the area of inducements to refer patients. What if the doctor owns a piece of a lab and says the patient must have lab work done there? Not a good idea. Article includes a discussion of the federal laws referred to as Stark I and Stark II.