How Healthcare Lawyers Help Protect Medical Organizations

Due to the nature of the healthcare industry, medical practices and organizations are often at risk legally and financially. Navigating complex medical issues in a court of law can quickly become overwhelming and confusing. However, with an experienced team of attorneys on your side, you can help protect yourself from potential liabilities and risks.

Here are some of the ways in which healthcare lawyers can help protect your organization:

Administrative and Regulatory Compliance

Healthcare is one of the most regulated and scrutinized industries in the United States on municipal, state, and federal levels. Compliance standards can change rapidly, and it can prove overly complex and exhausting to keep up with the constant evolution.

A team of healthcare attorneys can assist you in maintaining administrative and corporate compliance through any legal changes and complications. They remain up to date on legal issues in the health law field and can advise you on best practices for maintaining complete compliance and represent you in court or an administrative hearing if necessary.

Data Security & Privacy Compliance

The Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is standard for patient data access, storage, and transmission. Violating HIPAA compliance standards can result in financial or criminal liabilities for your medical organization.

A healthcare attorney can assist you in creating the proper data management, privacy and security policies as well as create incident response and contingency plans in the event HIPAA standards are either intentionally or unintentionally violated within your organization.

Healthcare Consulting

Healthcare consultants can also assist your organization in a variety of ways. Whether you need help navigating your regulatory agency’s application or approval process, exploring new programs or licensure, drafting policies, or proactively preparing for future surveys with mock inspections, quality assurance advice or compliance reviews, you can lean on the expertise and knowledge of seasoned healthcare consultants to help you remain compliant and financially protected in your business and healthcare practices.

Healthcare Fraud and Abuse

False accusations of healthcare fraud and abuse can ruin a medical organization’s reputation and financial livelihood. Conversely, accusations that are proven true can prove catastrophic. When these situations happen or questions arise as to the legality of a proposed healthcare arrangement, an experienced healthcare lawyer can assist you in navigating these challenging issues and, if need be, crafting a defense before a court of law to shield you and your practice from these threats.

Healthcare Transaction Negotiation

Healthcare organizations conduct numerous transactions throughout their lifespans. Whether you are acquiring another practice or key employee, selling or acquiring a practice, drafting vendor or technology contracts, or any number of other important transactions, you can leave yourself open to potential vulnerabilities hidden in fine print or that would not be apparent without the assistance of an experienced healthcare attorney.

A healthcare lawyer will assist you in thoroughly reviewing all transaction documents and identifying pitfalls to ensure that your deal is mutually beneficial to both entities and legally compliant with state and federal regulations.

Litigation and Appeals

If your healthcare organization becomes involved in litigation or needs help with an appeal, you will need to lean on a team of lawyers to provide you with the necessary expertise to represent and guide you through this process to reduce liability and risk. Conversely, if you are being sued by an individual or business entity, you will need a team well-versed in the healthcare industry and applicable healthcare law to provide your organization with a strong and well-informed defense against accusations.

Medicaid, Medicare, and Third-Party Payor Compliance

A healthcare lawyer can also help with Medicaid, Medicare, and other third-party payor compliance and disagreements. We can advise you on billing and coding issues, as well as represent you in audits or appeals to help ensure that you receive the proper reimbursement and offer you the best available defense and ensure compliance while your records are being reviewed by the government.

Professional Discipline

As with every other industry, licensed professionals face scrutiny. Sometimes this scrutiny and the proposed discipline is warranted and sometimes it is the result of government overreach. Experienced healthcare attorneys can put these allegations and matters into the proper context and help convince regulators that minor policy violations do not warrant discipline. 

In other cases, an employee’s actions against organizational policies, values, and standards may need to be investigated and could result in discipline, potentially up to the point of termination. 

When these matters are managed or handled with the advice of experienced healthcare attorneys, your leadership or human resources department can effectively maintain compliance and protect your organization at the same time. A healthcare lawyer can assist you in putting disciplinary matters into context, advising legally sound disciplinary action for employees whose conduct mandates it and developing appropriate corrective action.

Work with New York State’s Top Healthcare Lawyers Today

When it comes to protecting your healthcare practice or organization, an experienced healthcare lawyer is an invaluable asset. We can help you navigate the complexities of healthcare law, advise on compliance with laws and regulations, and represent you in court if necessary. If you’re not already working with a healthcare lawyer, now is the time to find one.

Our team of healthcare attorneys at O’Connell & Aronowitz have represented a wide range of healthcare providers throughout the Empire State for nearly 100 years. No matter the size, industry, location or complexity of your practice or organization we are able to assist you. Please contact us today to speak with one of our lawyers.