16 Tips For Health Professionals to Avoid Sexual Harassment Complaints & Allegations
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Throughout my decades of representing health care professionals, I have seen cases where an economic competitor of a physician generated false sexual harassment complaints to eliminate competition. I have seen cases where an ex-employee invented false allegations of sexual harassment after that employee was caught embezzling money from the employer. There have been cases where administrative and nursing staff have conspired to create complaints against a demanding and unpopular physician in a hospital setting. Therefore, I am never surprised when a physician claims they [...]
The Do’s and Don’ts If You Are Under Investigation For Discipline on Your Professional License, Part 2
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law You are reading Part 2 of this blog series. To read Part 1, click here. If you are notified that you are under investigation, DO NOT take the easy way out by immediately relinquishing your license. And DO NOT hide your head in the sand by thinking the case will just go away on its own. DO NOT think that you can just talk to the investigator, explain your side, and the case will go away. Also, DO NOT request an informal hearing or [...]
COVID-19 Burn Out Causing More Resident Physicians to Unionize, Part 1
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law This is part one in a blog series focusing on the effects of COVID burnout in healthcare professionals. Be sure to check back for part two. As you know, residents are new physicians who have recently finished medical school and are spending three to seven years obtaining additional training in a medical specialty. Almost all hospitals practice independently; after all, they are doctors already. And in nearly all hospitals where resident physicians practice, they represent the front line of medical care. On duty all [...]
U.S. Government Renews COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, Extending Health Benefits for Millions of Americans
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On July 15, 2022, the United States again renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency, allowing millions of Americans special access to free tests, vaccines, and treatments. The public health emergency was initially declared in January 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began. Since then, the Department of Health and Human Services has renewed it each quarter. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra officially renewed the declaration extending it through October 13, 2022. View it in full here. Ensuring Continued Access to Special Services During the Public-Health Emergency. [...]
DOJ Files False Claims Suit Against Nursing Homes Over “Substandard Services and Nonexistent” Care
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On June 15, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it has sued three nursing homes in Ohio and Pennsylvania, citing their “grossly substandard skilled nursing services.” The False Claims Act (FCA) complaint against the American Health Foundation (AHF), its affiliate AHF Management Corporation, and three nursing homes alleges the facilities fraudulently billed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for often "nonexistent care." According to the complaint, all three AHF nursing homes not only provided substandard nursing home care services that [...]
Additional Negative Consequences for Discipline on Your Professional License, Part 1 of 2
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Do you have a medical, pharmacist, counselor, or nursing license in more than one state? Do you have a license in more than one profession? Have you been notified that an investigation has been opened against your professional license? Are you thinking about resigning your professional license or voluntarily relinquishing (giving up) your license? Then you should be aware of some important facts you may not have known. First, you should never voluntarily relinquish or resign your professional license after you know that an [...]
Helpful Tips Healthcare Professionals Should Be Following for Professional Correspondence
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law I review many letters, e-mails, memoranda, and other types of correspondence prepared by my physician and nurse clients during my legal representation. These come to me often because of a dispute with a hospital, their peers, an insurance company, a lawsuit filed by a patient, a complaint being investigated by the licensing agency, an investigation of an incident, or another serious matter. In many cases, way too many cases, such correspondence is unprofessional and defeats the purpose of the reason you are sending the [...]