Urgent message: In the midst of the controversy in the United States surrounding the right to bear arms and concealed-carry laws, the medical field has also been wrestling with the issue. Some patients, facility personnel, and facility visitors will carry weapons. Thus, it is important that urgent care managers be prepared by identifying which issues regarding weapons they should focus on and what they and their personnel may be able to do when an encounter involves a weapon. Guns in …
Read MoreCritical Due Diligence Issues for Buyers and Sellers of Urgent Care Centers
Urgent message: Because deal activity for urgent care centers has been on the rise, prospective buyers and sellers of urgent care centers should understand key issues in preparing a center for sale or acquisition, sharing information, and ensuring compliance with the doctrine of corporate practice of medicine and with other health-care regulations. Introduction No segment of the U.S. health-care services industry has seen more merger and acquisition activity over the past few years than the urgent care market (which includes occupational health). Dozens …
Read MoreCorporate Practice of Medicine: Could Your Current Operating Structure Be at Risk?
Urgent message: State laws prohibiting the corporate practice of medicine are often skirted by business arrangements that segregate a professional entity from a management company, but these arrangements can still pose significant risks to providers unless specific steps are taken to ensure the segregation of clinical and management activities. Introduction The corporate practice of medicine doctrine dates back to the inception of physician licensure laws. The tenet is derived from the legal requirement that only a …
Read MoreProtecting Your Urgent Care Center Against Whistle-Blowers
Urgent message: Government financial enticements for whistleblowing have resulted in a sharp rise in employee reports against their health-care employers. Urgent care centers can protect themselves by identifying potentially litigious employees, having a wellpublicized compliance program, and by establishing internal reporting procedures. Introduction In recent years, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of whistle-blower lawsuits in the health-care industry. Because these lawsuits reap huge payouts for the federal government, whistle-blowers are monetarily enticed to report their employers to government agencies rather …
Read MoreTurning Over Patient Records on Request
Urgent message: Urgent care providers subject to the privacy regulations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 need compliant procedures for handling patient requests for medical records, including transfer of patient records to other providers. U.S. federal and state laws require providers to allow patients access to their medical records. This includes records supplied by another provider (e.g., a specialist who has forwarded a report to the primary-care physician) that may be …
Read MoreComplying with Medical Information Restrictions of the Family Medical Leave Act and Americans with Disabilities Act
Urgent message: Urgent care centers that are subject to the Family Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act are limited on the types of questions they can ask related to employee requests for leave. To avoid legal problems, managers should understand the requirements for leave and implement a process for handling information requests. Spencer Hamer, JD Two common laws that employers must deal with regarding employee leave requests are the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities …
Read MoreThe Importance of Having a Solid Job Description for Every Position in the Urgent Care Center
Urgent message: Having concise, complete, and up-to-date job descriptions for all employees in an urgent care center will pay off with better role performance, fewer employment disputes, and hopefully the elimination of the possibility of legal action. Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, Experity Between 2012 and 2022, according to the U.S. Economic Census, health-care employment is expected to increase by 2.6% annually—or by 5 million jobs. This rate is approximately five times that projected for …
Read MoreLegal Implications of Integration of Hospitals and Urgent Care Centers
Ron Lebow, JD Urgent message: As health systems and payors align their interests in the creation of accountable care organizations, hospitals that acquire or partner with urgent care centers must adopt a legal structure and an operating model that remain compliant with the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the federal Stark law, and with other federal and state regulations. Introduction With the advent of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the government recognized that …
Read MoreHow to Recognize and Handle Potentially Litigious Patients
Angela T. Burnette, JD Urgent message: Although any urgent care center could potentially face litigation at any time, the risks of being sued can be reduced by focusing on provider behaviors that build strong relationships with patients, by recognizing patient behaviors that may increase the odds of litigation, and by having a plan for handling dissatisfied patients. Lawsuits do not discriminate. They are filed against all types of health-care providers—new or experienced, group practice or …
Read MoreProtecting Patient Privacy in the Cloud
K Royal, JD, CIPP/E, CIPP/US Urgent message: The shift in medical practice from written charts to integrated digital platforms has dramatically increased the visibility, size, and magnitude of health-care information breaches. There are specific steps urgent care operators should take with vendors to protect patient information in this new technological environment. The news makes it seem that data breaches occur on a fairly regular basis. The Ponemon Institute even named 2014 as the year of …
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