Are you searching for San Diego healthcare attorneys with extensive experience serving medical practices, health care entities and organizations throughout California? Are you forming a new healthcare business or joint venture or considering the addition of a Management Services Organization or MSO? How can the Watkins Firm help your medical or healthcare entity to remain in compliance with all federal, state and local laws, regulations and ordinances while increasing profitability and patient satisfaction?
Forming a New Medical Practice or Healthcare Business
Forming a new medical practice or healthcare business can be quite challenging. This is especially true here in California, where our regulatory compliance issues are quite complex and simply the act of serving as an employer is a constant and evolving challenge.
The San Diego healthcare attorneys at the Watkins Firm has served medical practices and healthcare industry for more than 40 years. Our healthcare business formation attorneys help you to select the right entity or entities to accomplish the mission at hand. Ask about the California Professional Corporation and the unique protections it provides for licensed professionals here in California.
Adding a Management Services Organization or MSO
Most of our healthcare clients have added an MSO to their business strategy. A Management Services Organization allows you to separate out the “business” of healthcare, legally attract venture capital and external investment while offloading mundane business functions so that you are free to focus on the delivery of exceptional healthcare and patient satisfaction.
An MSO is able to manage non-medical business functions such as real estate ownership and building management, contract with vendors and non-medical workers such as collectors, billing, HR and data processing professionals. Your MSO can provide all of the hardware and software necessary to facilitate your practice or healthcare business and even handle the distribution of products generated by your firm.
There are a few risks associated with an MSO, but the Watkins Firm can help you to mitigate any risks and take steps to increase your profitability as a practice while improving the patient experience at every point in the process.
Pro-Tip: “The California Professional Corporation is really their only business vehicle. Healthcare providers can’t be limited liability companies. They can’t be these other types of entities. They can be general partners, which exposes them to severe liability, or they can be professional healthcare corporations, which shields them from personal liability. To some extent, although a licensed doctor, a licensed lawyer, the one who’s doing the work is always going to be personally liable. That’s why they have to spend so much money on a malpractice insurance, but it also is a vehicle where you can bring in other shareholders who qualify.
And there are a list of exceptions. Usually most of the owners of a professional corporation providing healthcare have to be licensed healthcare personnel, there’s a list of exceptions to that law, but it is what doctors use to do business. Professional Corporations have complicated shareholder agreements that require extensive legal and healthcare law experience and legal skill.
Healthcare providers and entities can enter into Management Services Organizations or MSOs. They can, enter into agreements with other corporations or other service providers. They can buy their own ancillary service providers as long as they comply with all the requirements for that as well. So a sole medical practice through a complex research or medical products corporation can branch out into other forms of business if they know how to do it. And if they can find an experienced lawyer, they can write it up so that they’re in compliance with Medicare and also the complex licensing rules and regulations for California or the state they’re in. We can help healthcare entities wherever they are located.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner
Support with Healthcare Governance and Compliance
The San Diego healthcare attorneys at the Watkins Firm will help your medical practice or healthcare entity remain in compliance with all federal, state and local laws, regulations and ordinances. We ensure compliance with HIPAA, Stark Law, and all other healthcare-related regulatory issues. There are many California employment laws that are specific to healthcare practices that a normal California employer wouldn’t have to comply with.
Unfortunately, employee-related lawsuits are quite common in the healthcare industry. A good defense begins with a strong offense, and the Watkins Firm helps to make sure everything from your employee handbook to your policies and procedures are up-to-date and compliant with all requirements. There is so much to keep up with in the healthcare market. This is why you need the experienced, proven medical practice and healthcare business attorneys at the Watkins Firm.
We invite you to review our podcast Episode 37 – Medical Practice and Healthcare Governance and Compliance as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.
