Seattle Health Care & Medical Practice Group Attorneys
Our leading health care attorneys have dedicated their careers to protecting their client's interests while securing the best possible outcome. MPBA represents many types of health care organizations and medical and dental providers, with particular emphasis on individual physicians and dentists and physician groups, providing legal services as needed in the following health care-related areas:
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Standards of care and practice issues, including patient consent, bioethical issues, confidentiality, medical records, peer review, medical staff bylaws and functions, physician impairment, referral to the Washington Physicians Health Program (WPHP), peer review proceedings, professional review actions, hospital medical staff issues, clinical privileges, physician misconduct and prohibited activities under the Washington Uniform Disciplinary Act (UDA), medical disciplinary defense (including complaints, investigations and audits by the Washington Department of Health (DOH), Medical Quality Assurance Commission (MQAC), and Dental Quality Assurance Commission (DQAC), and mandatory reporting to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB);
- Compliance with federal and state health care laws and regulations, including Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), physician self-referral restrictions under Stark, the anti-kickback laws and regulatory safe harbors, certificates of need, the corporate practice of medicine doctrine, overtime exemptions for nurses and other licensed providers, and the recent health care reform laws;
- Business formation, organization, and maintenance, including choice of entity, formation, restructuring, shareholder and/or member agreements, related tax issues, partnership disputes, and non-competes;
- Business transactions, including contracts, financing, mergers, acquisitions, major medical equipment acquisitions, leases, real estate transactions, and setting up ancillary facilities such as imaging centers, ambulatory surgery centers, and physical therapy, optical, audiology and other clinics;
- Agreements for professional services and with hospitals and other medical facilities, including Medical Director, payment for ED call, gainsharing and other contracts;
- Insurance issues, including general liability, directors' and officers' coverage, employment practices coverage, malpractice coverage, as well as other risk limitation or avoidance issues;
- Employment issues, including policy manuals, employee discipline and discharge, sexual harassment investigations, wage and hour claims, unemployment benefits, and other workplace matters; and
- Contracts, disputes and audits involving third party payors.