Contracting 101: Tips For Medical Graduates Entering the Workforce
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law This blog is intended to provide an introductory review of contracting 101 basics for medical graduates entering the workforce as residents and fellows. We will highlight many of the common provisions found in employment contracts, along with many […]
Contracting 101: Medical Graduates Entering the Workforce, Follow These Tips!
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, of a blog series that is intended to provide an introductory review of the basics of contracting for medical graduates entering the work force as residents and fellows, primarily by discussing employment agreements. We […]
Medical Negligence – An Accidental Overdose of Prescription Pain Pills Can Lead to Lawsuits
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law and Carole C. Schriefer, R.N., J.D., The Health Law Firm In February 2009, a 30-year-old male patient was prescribed, all together, 180 pills of Dilaudid and Xanax from a South Florida pain clinic. Sometime within the next 24 […]
More Medicare Audits Now Than Ever Before
George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in the Legal Specialty of Health Law A Medicare audit, whether it is performed by a contractor of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), or by another organization, can be a daunting process. It is never “routine” and should never […]
Miami Medical Clinic Owner Pleads Guilty to $20 Million in Medicare Fraud
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The owner of a Miami-based medical clinic pleaded guilty on January 8, 2014, for her involvement in several health care fraud schemes that allegedly cost the Medicare program around $20 million. The schemes allegedly involved fraudulent billing for […]
Top Medicare Prescribers Collect Speaking Fees from Drug Makers-Coincidence?
By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm and George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A recent investigation by ProPublica found that certain doctors who prescribed certain drug brands the most, also have financial ties to the companies that manufacture those prescription drugs. Using […]
Health Care Professionals and Providers Beware: The Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) Is Catching Fire
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law In May 2009, the Department of Health and Humans Services (HHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) created the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT). HEAT’s mission is to focus its efforts on preventing and […]
Strike Force Busts 89 People, Mostly Health Care Professionals, in Nationwide Crackdown on Medicare Fraud
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law In a nationwide takedown nearly 100 people, including doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, in eight cities were all allegedly charged in separate Medicare fraud schemes. These individual scams involved approximately $223 million in false billing, according to […]
Two Separate Lawsuits Against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation Allege Illegal Kickbacks and False Claims
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NPC) is currently fielding two different lawsuits, filed just days apart from each other, by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The first lawsuit was filed on April 23, 2013, alleging the company gave illegal […]
Number of Oxycodone-Related Deaths Down in Florida
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law It looks like Florida’s prescription drug legislation, the statewide prescription drug monitoring database and the prescription drug crackdowns by law enforcement may be working, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The FDLE states in its […]
It’s the End to the Eyeball Wars-Optometrists and Ophthalmologists Come to an Agreement: Optometrists Allowed to Prescribe
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On April 4, 2013, the Florida Senate passed Florida Governor Rick Scott a hard-fought bill that would expand the drug-prescribing practices of optometrists, according to the Associated Press. House Bill 239 has pitted optometrists against ophthalmologists for years […]
Optometrists and Ophthalmologists Not Seeing Eye to Eye Over Proposed Law Allowing Prescribing
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law This year Florida House Bill 239 and Florida Senate Bill 278 has been reignited in the Florida Legislature. This legislation is pitting optometrists and ophthalmologists against each other in what is being called the “eyeball wars,” according to […]
Occupational Therapists, Podiatrists, Psychologists and Optometrists Being Scrutinized in Medicare Audits
George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Our firm has recently seen an increase in the number of occupational therapists (OTs), speech therapists (STs), podiatrists, psychologists, optometrists and other licensed health professionals being scrutinized in Medicare audits and recovery actions. Often these result from claims submitted […]
Posing as Physician Assistant Lands Kissimmee Teen Behind Bars for One Year
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Kissimmee, Florida, teen found guilty in August 2012 for impersonating a physician assistant (P.A.) faced up to 20 years in prison for two counts of impersonation and two counts of practicing without a license. On November 14, […]
Industry Trend: Hospital Systems Merging and Acquiring Private Practices All Over the Country
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law There’s a structural shift that is sweeping the health care system – hospitals are acquiring private physician practices. It is happening all over the U.S., including right here in Central Florida. On December 31, 2012, Orlando Health – […]
South Florida Pharmacy Owner Pleads Guilty to $23 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A co-owner and operator of three Miami-area pharmacies pleaded guilty on December 6, 2012, for his part in a $23 million health care fraud scheme. The pharmacy owner allegedly admitted in the Florida Southern Federal District Court to […]
Hospitals Allegedly Enforcing Questionable Practices to Increase Bottom Line
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Doctors and hospitals around the country seem to be butting heads. In the past month, an article in The New York Times and a segment on the television “magazine” show 60 Minutes shed light on some questionable practices […]
How Safe Is Your Hospital?
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law It’s been a long time since most of us have seen a report card, but hospitals all over the nation received their safety grades on November 28, 2012. Leapfrog, a national group that advocates for safer health care, […]
Florida Pharmacy Owner Accused of Medicare Fraud
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A family that owns a number of South Florida pharmacies is allegedly under investigation for Medicare fraud, according to a number of sources. On January 17, 2013, federal authorities raided one pharmacy location in Naples, Florida. Drug Enforcement […]
Lehigh University Student Sues Grad School for $1.3 Million for Bad Grade
By George F. Indest, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law While in school, we all received grades that we believed to be unfair or unwarranted. One graduate of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, has taken her bad grade to court. She is suing the university over a “C+” grade. In […]
Major Medicare Offender Sentenced to Prison for Multi-Million Dollar Health Care Fraud Scheme
By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm The former owner of four mental health facilities in South Florida and North Carolina was sentenced to fourteen (14) years in federal prison on February 25, 2013. The former business owner pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicare out of tens of millions of dollars from 2004 through […]
Florida Pharmacy Owner Admits to $23 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A co-owner and operator of three Miami-area pharmacies pleaded guilty on December 6, 2012, for his part in a $23 million health care fraud scheme. The pharmacy owner allegedly admitted in the Florida Southern Federal District Court to […]
The American Nurses Association Breathes New Life Into The Nursing Code of Ethics For 2015
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On a daily basis, the average nurse uses knowledge, training and ethical standards to make vital decisions regarding patient health. Nurses are required to quickly process simple and complex emergency situations, which leaves little room for second guessing. […]
Nation Rx Drug Abuse Summit Held in Central Florida-Leaders Share Struggles and Triumphs in “War Against Prescription Drugs”
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law From April 2 through April 4, 2013, the country’s leading experts on the prescription drug epidemic met in Central Florida for the National Rx Drug Abuse Summit, according to the Orlando Sentinel. National leaders including the White House […]
Crackdown in the Supply of Prescription Medications Drive Floridians to Heroin
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law For the past three years, Florida lawmakers and officials have waged war against prescription drug abuse. At the peak of the pill abuse epidemic, seven people a day reportedly died of a prescription drug overdose in Florida. As […]
Do Not Voluntarily Relinquish or Give Up Your License or Allow it to Expire While Under Investigation or Pending Disciplinary Action
By Danielle M. Murray, J.D. Scenario: Psychologist, licensed mental health counselor, or other mental health professional has a license in State 1 where he or she lives and practices and also in State 2. A complaint is filed with the Department of Health, Professional Board, or other licensing authority in State 1. Rather than incur the […]
Nursing Liability and Nursing Malpractice – Part 2
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law In this blog I discuss the concept of nursing malpractice. It is the second blog of my two-part series. To read part one, click here. The Duty of Reasonable Care. The plaintiff must first show that the nurse […]
Nursing Liability and Nursing Malpractice – Part 1
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Feds File Two Lawsuits Against Novartis for Allegedly Giving Kickback to Pharmacists and Physicians
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NPC) is currently fielding two different lawsuits, filed just days apart from each other, by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The first lawsuit was filed on April 23, 2013, alleging the company gave illegal […]