9th Circuit Court Rules Former Nurse Can Proceed With Med Mal Suit Against VA Hospital
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On September 29, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a former federal employee can sue the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The suit alleges medical negligence that occurred during psychiatric […]
9th Circuit Says Former Federal Nurse Can Proceed With Medical Malpractice Suit Against VA Hospital
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On September 29, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a former federal employee can sue the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The suit alleges medical negligence that occurred […]
Ex-Navy Officer Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Prison For $2 Million Insurance Fraud
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law and Hartley Brooks, Law Clerk, The Health Law Firm On October 18, 2023, an ex-Navy officer was sentenced to 30 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in an […]
NC Medical Malpractice Suit Against the U.S. Dismissed Due to 4-Year Time Limit
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law and Hartley Brooks, Law Clerk, The Health Law Firm On July 18, 2023, a federal judge in North Carolina granted a motion to dismiss a suit against Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune based on a state law four-year time […]
Take this Quick and Easy Quiz to See If You Might Be a “Disruptive Physician”
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law I often have consultations with and represent physicians from across the country who are in trouble with their hospital medical staff or their licensing board because a complaint has been filed against them alleging they are a “disruptive […]
Physician Gets 40 Years For Illegally Prescribing More Than Half a Million Opioid Doses
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 2, 2019, a Virginia doctor received a 40-year prison sentence for illegally prescribing more than half a million opioid pills over 19 months. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia handed down the […]
Florida’s New E-Prescribing Law: How It May Affect You and Your Career
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law In 2019, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 831 (2019), Electronic Prescribing, into law. The new bill provides important requirements for prescribers to generate and transmit all prescriptions electronically upon their license renewal or by July 1, […]
Florida Compounding Pharmacy Reaches $21 Million Settlement to End FCA Kickback Suit
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On September 19, 2019, a Florida compounding pharmacy reached a $21.4 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Southern District of Florida to resolve claims they orchestrated a $70 million kickback scheme. Diabetic Care […]
Physician Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison For Illegally Prescribing Opioid Pills
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 2, 2019, a Virginia doctor received a 40-year prison sentence for illegally prescribing more than half a million opioid pills over 19 months. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia handed down the […]
Compounding Pharmacy Agrees to Pay $21 Million to End FCA Kickback Suit
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On September 19, 2019, a Florida compounding pharmacy reached a $21.4 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Southern District of Florida to resolve claims they orchestrated a $70 million kickback scheme. Diabetic Care […]
Alaska Board Sends Contradictory Letter to Pharmacists Over Filling Opioid Prescriptions (Part 1)
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The “Opioid Crisis” in the U.S. We all know that there is an “opioid crisis” in the U.S. It is probably prevalent in every state. In Florida we have been suffering under it for the past ten to […]
One in Four Florida Healthcare Providers Skipped Required Opioid Prescribing Class
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On February 5, 2019, state officials announced that about one in four Florida health care providers failed to take a required two-hour continuing education (CE) course on prescribing controlled substances. The deadline for the mandated course was January […]
Florida Gov. Pulls Large Number of Appointments Made by Predecessor, One from Board of Acupuncture
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On February 22, 2019, Florida’s new Governor, Rick DeSantis retracted 169 appointments that the former governor made before leaving office. One of these was to the Florida Board of Acupuncture. This is not the first time he has […]
DeSantis Rescinds Large Number of Appointments Made by Former Governor, One from Board of Dentistry
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On February 22, 2019, Florida’s new Governor, Rick DeSantis retracted 169 appointments that the former governor made before leaving office. One of these was to the Florida Board of Dentistry. This is not the first time he has […]
DeSantis Yanks Large Number of Appointments Made by Former Governor, Several on Board of Nursing
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On February 22, 2019, Florida’s new Governor, Rick DeSantis retracted 169 appointments that the former governor made before leaving office. Several of these were appointments that had been made to the Florida Board of Nursing. This is not […]
FL May Allow Providers to Avoid Past Mental-Health Conditions, Drug Issues on License Applications
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Health care professionals ask patients about their medical histories every day for in treating them. But what happens when they are requested to divulge in their own history to the state as part of the licensing process? Before […]
Alaska Board of Pharmacy Sends Letter to its Pharmacists Sending Mixed Signals Over Filling Opioid Prescriptions (Part 1 of a 2 part series)
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The “Opioid Crisis” in the U.S. We all know that there is an “opioid crisis” in the U.S. It is probably prevalent in every state. In Florida we have been suffering under it for the past ten to […]
Virginia Doc Lands 40 Years in Prison For Running Multi-state Pill Mill
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 2, 2019, a Virginia doctor received a 40-year prison sentence for illegally prescribing more than half a million opioid pills over 19 months. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia handed down the […]
Will Florida Board of Medicine Follow Board of Pharmacy’s Lead and Recommend PRN Evaluations for Applicants Before Application is Considered?
By Lance Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm At the February 12, 2014, Florida Board of Pharmacy meeting, some board members expressed frustration with the fact that applicants for licensure with prior mental health or substance abuse related issues had not been evaluated by the Professionals Resource Network (PRN) prior to the consideration of their […]
Little Known Facts About State and DOH Investigations That Could Save Your Professional License
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The notice that you are under investigation may seem nonthreatening. It may come in the mail, be delivered personally by an investigator or you may receive a telephone call from the investigator. This is a very serious matter […]