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Military Non-judicial Punishments or Article 15 Proceedings Are Not Criminal Convictions–Military Physicians, Dentists and Nurses Should Know This

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Our firm represents many military and former military health professionals. We are often asked how a non-judicial punishment or Article 15 proceeding will be treated for license applications, clinical privileges applications, and background screenings.

Article 15 Non-judicial Punishment Is Not the Same as a Court-martial or a Criminal Proceeding.

Under Article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), which is also codified in 10 U.S.C. § 815, a commanding officer may issue an administrative punishment to enlisted or officer personnel under her command. These are not considered criminal convictions for any purpose, hence their other name, “non-judicial punishment.” These are usually for minor offenses and may be considered similar to civilian non-criminal traffic offenses.

An Article 15 non-judicial proceeding is less judicial […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T09:59:43-04:00April 6, 2021|Categories: In the Know, In the News, Nursing Law Blog|Tags: Army Navy Air Force dentist defense lawyer, Army Navy Air Force nurse lawyer, Army Navy Air Force physician attorney, Army Navy Air Force psychologist attorney, Defense Health Agency Procedures Manual 6025.13 hearing defense attorney, Department of Defense clinical privileges defense attorney, DHA peer review defense lawyer, DHA PM 6025.13 investigation defense lawyer, DHA PM 6025.13 legal representation, DOD peer review defense attorney, DOD quality assurance investigation defense lawyer, legal representation for challenging NPDB reports, Legal representation for Department of Health (DOH) investigations, legal representation for health care professionals, legal representation for VA doctors, military dentists defense attorney, military physician defense lawyer, military physician legal representation, military quality assurance investigation defense attorney, NPDB appeal attorney, NPDB report defense lawyer, Public Health Service physician defense lawyer, representation of former military health professionals, representation of military healthcare professionals, reviews of The Health Law Firm, The Health Law Firm attorney reviews, VA doctor defense lawyer, VA nurse defense lawyer, VA nurse lawyer, Veterans Administration (VA) physician defense attorney|Comments Off

Multiple Settlements with HHS for HIPAA Security Rule Violations & Data Breaches

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In September 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced three settlements to resolve alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules. The settlements, totaling $10.6 million, stem from data breaches in which hackers were able to access and obtain individuals’ protected health information (PHI) from U.S. health providers. Combined, the three hacking incidents compromised the health information of more than 16 million patients.

Summary of the HIPAA Security Rule Settlements.

On September 21, 2020, the Office of Civil Rights, or OCR, the division of HHS which receives and investigates HIPAA complaints, announced a settlement with an orthopedic clinic in Georgia. The clinic agreed to pay $1.5 million after a 2016 hacking incident that […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T09:59:44-04:00April 1, 2021|Categories: Health care Law, Pharmacy Law Blog|Tags: administrative hearing defense lawyer, defense legal representation for HIPAA investigations, HIPAA audit defense lawyer, HIPAA defense complaint lawyer, HIPAA investigation defense representation, HIPAA risk analysis lawyer, HIPAA violation defense lawyer, HIPAA/breach of confidentiality law defense attorney, legal counsel for preparing HIPAA Risk Analysis, legal defense counsel for Corrective Action Plans (CAPs), legal defense for OCR complaint investigations, legal representation to defend HIPAA violations, legal representation to defend OCR HIPAA audits, OCR investigation defense, representation for administrative hearing cases, representation for federal administrative litigation, representation for HIPAA/breach of confidentiality law suits, reviews of The Health Law Firm attorneys, the health law firm|Comments Off

Florida Passes Law for Health Professional Background Screening

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T09:59:44-04:00April 1, 2021|Categories: Health care Law|Comments Off

New Policy Changes to USMLE Exams and How They Impact Medical Students, Graduates

By Achal A. Aggarwal, J.D.

The United States Medical Licensing Examination (“USMLE”) is a three-step examination required to obtain a medical license. It is written and administered by the USMLE Secretariat of the National Board of Medical Examiners (“NBME”) and is sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (“FSMB”) and the USMLE.

Medical students desiring to practice in the U.S. are under immense pressure to not only pass the exams but to excel at them. Specifically, the USMLE Step 1 Examination, the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (“CK”) Examination, and the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills (“CS”) Examination are the most significant deciding factors that residency programs use for selecting applicants to interview for residency positions. However, a lot is about to change.

Important […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T09:59:45-04:00March 29, 2021|Categories: In the News, Medical Education Law Blog|Tags: disruptive physician attorney, ECFMG defense attorney, Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) defense lawyer, Graduate medical education (GME) defense attorney, graduate medical education defense lawyer, health law attorney, impaired medical student legal counsel, impaired resident legal defense attorney, international medical graduate attorney, irregular behavior defense attorney, irregular behavior defense counsel, Irregular behavior defense lawyer, irregular conduct legal representation, lawyer for medical students, legal dispute with medical school, legal representation for irregular behavior, legal representation for medical residents, legal representation for NBME investigations, legal representation for USMLE investigations, medical resident physician attorney, medical school litigation, medical students legal counsel, National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) defense counsel, Philadelphia attorney for ECFMG hearing, Philadelphia lawyer for NBME hearing, Philadelphia legal counsel for USMLE hearing, residency program legal dispute, residency program litigation, reviews of The Health Law Firm attorneys, The Health Law Firm reviews, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) defense lawyer, USMLE defense attorney|Comments Off

Simple Rules for Keeping Your License and Avoiding Complaints for Counselors and Psychotherapists

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

I represent many mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, and professional counselors, defending them on complaints being investigated against their professional licenses. Many complaints and investigations arise because the therapist has strayed over the line and crossed the therapist-client boundary. In reviewing these cases, I have drawn up a list of a few simple “bright line” rules that can help save you many hours of stress and mental anguish as well as thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees and costs defending yourself

These “rules” may seem to be common sense, but there they are, anyway:

1. DO NOT ever meet the client at an outside social activity […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T09:59:45-04:00March 26, 2021|Categories: In the Know, In the News, Mental Health Law Blog|Tags: administrative complaint defense attorney, administrative complaint defense lawyer, administrative hearing defense counsel, defense lawyer for psychologists, Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) complaint investigation defense counsel, Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) defense attorney, Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) investigations administrative hearing defense lawyer, Florida Board of Medicine hearing defense attorney, Florida Department of Health (DOH) attorney, Florida health law defense attorney, Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO attorney, informal administrative hearing defense attorney, legal representation for psychiatrists, licensed professional counselor (LPC) defense attorney, licensed professional counselor (LPC) legal representation, medical license defense, mental health counselor defense lawyer, mental health counselor legal representation, representation for administrative complaint hearings, representation for administrative hearings, representation for Department of Health (DOH) complaint investigations, representation for health care professionals, representation for licensed mental health counselors (LMHCs), representation for psychiatric nurse practitioners, representation for social workers, representation in complaint investigations, reviews of The Health Law Firm attorneys, social worker complaint cases, social worker defense attorney, social worker defense lawyer, The Health Law Firm reviews|Comments Off

Doctors & Nurses: Follow These 30 Tips 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 correspondence. Sometimes the “letter” is so bad, it will be disregarded by the reader to whom it was directed. I have seen this from doctors, nurses, dentists, psychologists, owners of health care businesses, and many, many other […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T09:59:45-04:00March 18, 2021|Categories: Health Facilities Law Blog, In the Know|Tags: defense lawyer for health care professionals, Florida health law attorney, health care professional representation, healthcare professional letter representation, legal representation for health care physicians, legal representation for nurses, nurse defense lawyer, physician defense lawyer, professional correspondence for legal dispute, representation for correspondence for doctors and nurses, representation for Professional correspondence, representation for professional letters, reviews of The Health Law Firm, the health law firm, The Health Law Firm attorney reviews, tips for professional correspondence|Comments Off

Colorado Board of Pharmacy Must Hand Over Patient Identifying Data to DEA

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
On April 22, 2020, a federal judge ordered the Colorado Board of Pharmacy to give the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) prescription drug monitoring program data on two pharmacies that the DEA is investigating. The data includes patient identifying information of more than 14,000 patients. The state must turn over the data by May 15, 2020, according to the order.

Pharmacy Investigations.

Citing concerns about the two pharmacies’ handling of controlled-substance prescriptions, the DEA issued subpoenas under the Controlled Substances Act in 2019. The DEA requested the information as part of an investigation into whether the two unnamed pharmacies broke the law in dispensing opioids and other drugs.

Clash Over Patient Privacy.

The DEA’s requested information is kept under the state’s Prescription […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T09:59:47-04:00March 4, 2021|Categories: Health care Law|Tags: Class Action Litigation, Complex Business Litigation, Complex Commercial Litigation, complex litigation, healthcare compliance defense attorney, healthcare facility defense lawyer, healthcare license defense attorney, Home Medical Equipment Provider license, medical regulatory defense lawyer, representation for durable medical equipment (DME)providers, representation for healthcare compliance, representation for healthcare facilities, representation for healthcare professionals, representation for home health agencies (HHAs), reviews of The Health Law Firm, The Health Law Firm attorney reviews|Comments Off

Three Charged For Roles in $109 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme, HIPAA Violations

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In October 2020, Massachusetts federal prosecutors charged three people for their alleged roles in a multi-million dollar plot to defraud Medicare. Two individuals allegedly collected patient data and sold it to the purported mastermind, who used it to submit $109 million in false claims.

The two individuals who allegedly obtained the patient information were both located in Florida, wouldn’t ya know. They were each charged with one count of receiving more than $1.6 million kickbacks in connection with a federal health care program. Prosecutors charged the third individual with criminal violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Fraudulently Collecting […]

Doctor, You Might Need A Home Medical Equipment Provider License, If . . .

By Michael L. Smith, J.D., R.R.T. Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Physicians frequently utilize electrostimulation or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) units, and other medical equipment in the course of their practice. Most often the physician or the practice bills the patient or the patient’s insurance for the medical equipment. Unfortunately, some physicians do not know that a special Home Medical Equipment Provider (HMEP) license may be required in Florida in order to legally bill patients for TENS units, and other durable medical equipment that the physicians provide to their own patients. Violating the laws that require a license can place the physician and the practice in some serious legal trouble.

Requirements for Physicians.

Under Florida law, a special Home Medical Equipment Provider (HMEP) license is required before a physician may provide and bill a patient or the patient’s insurance company […]

10 Biggest Mistakes Dentists Make That Cause DOH Complaints

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In representing dentists in complaints against their licenses, we see similar cases over and over again. The dentists could have avoided many Department of Health (DOH) complaints that may wind up before the Board of Dentistry.

These are the ten biggest mistakes we see dentists make, leading to DOH complaints being filed and investigations being opened against them.

1. Requiring patients to pay an outstanding dental bill before releasing a copy of their dental records. This is prohibited by law. However, the patient can be charged for the copy of the record, up to $1.00 per page for the first 25 pages, ($.25 per page after that), and actual costs of reproduction for other forms of dental records (X-rays, CD’s photographs).

2. Not having the […]