Represented acute care hospitals and rehabilitation hospitals on physician medical staff matters, including preparation of medical staff bylaws, disciplinary proceedings, and provider reporting obligations.
Assisted health system medical staff with development of bylaws and regularly advised regarding governance and related matters.
Obtained summary judgment in lawsuit alleging violations of medical staff bylaws and lack of due process in the termination of the physician’s privileges.
Advised medical staff peer review committee regarding legal and regulatory matters, including guiding medical staff through fair hearing procedures and required notifications to National Practitioner Data Bank and state licensing authorities.
Physician Agreements
Crafted compliant compensation arrangements for various physician services, including employment agreements, recruitment agreements, call coverage arrangements, exclusive hospital-based physician agreements, personal service agreements, and clinical co-management arrangements.
Advised hospital system on structure and compensation for physician call coverage arrangements, and in connection with the establishment of hospitalist and surgicalist programs.
Drafted and reviewed compliance issues in connection with numerous physician recruitment agreements on behalf of multiple hospitals, including joint recruitments involving two hospitals.
Advised health system regarding service line co-management agreements, including agreements with gastroenterology group and orthopedic surgery group.
Advised health system regarding personal services agreements with a variety of independent specialty groups, including pathology, radiology, and hospitalist.
Structured and drafted numerous physician employment agreements on behalf of a large health system and a major hospital chain.
Advised clients on physician compensation arrangements, including employment, professional services arrangements, call coverage, directorships, and the establishment of hospitalist and surgicalist programs.
Advised clients regarding regulatory requirements for medical director agreements.
Represented academic medical center components and provided counsel on a variety of legal issues, including financial relationships among hospital members and physician faculty.
Advised not-for-profit healthcare system regarding a variety of corporate governance matters, including private inurement and other compensation matters, community benefit requirements, and a variety of state law corporate governance issues.
Physician Practice Acquisition
Represented asthma, allergy and airways disease practice management company in connection with raising over $20 million in venture capital funds from Essex Woodland and acquiring and managing allergy practices in Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Virginia, including structuring friendly PC models, employment models and administrative service models for compliance with state regulatory regimes.
Represented oncology practice management company in connection with raising over $42 million in initial venture capital from Frontenac and, subsequently recapitalizing with Kohlberg & Company, private equity firm, and in connection with acquiring and managing oncology practices in Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Wyoming.
Represent for profit and non-profit hospital systems in the acquisition of physician practices and the formation of employed physician groups, including advising on productivity-based compensation and governance issues.
Represented client in acquiring the practice assets of, and entering into employment agreements with, a 25-physician cardiology practice and a 15-physician cardiology practice to form the largest cardiology practice in the State of Tennessee.
Represented for-profit and non-profit healthcare entities in the acquisition of physician practices and the formation of employed physician groups, including advising on productivity-based compensation and governance issues.
Drafted and reviewed compliance issues in connection with numerous physician recruitment agreements on behalf of multiple hospitals, including joint recruitments involving two hospitals.
Analyzed various states' self-referral, anti-kickback, fee-splitting and corporate practice of medicine laws in connection with the syndication of numerous hospitals to physician investors.
Served as lead counsel in organization of multiple physician-owned entities (and related healthcare regulatory compliance, private placement of securities, and financing transactions) and their operations and governance matters.
Represented employers of all types with various executive compensation issues, including those arising in employment agreements, non-qualified deferred compensation plans, supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs), and similar arrangements, including advising such clients concerning the Code Section 409A aspects of all such arrangements.
Physician Employment
Represented for profit and nonprofit hospital systems in the acquisition of physician practices and the formation of employed physician groups, including advising on productivity-based compensation and governance issues.
Structured and drafted numerous physician employment agreements on behalf of a large health system and a major hospital chain.
Assisted health system with negotiation and implementation of uniform employment agreement template for multi-specialty physician practice of over 150 physicians. Advised health system regarding contractual and other legal implications of physician employee discipline and termination.
Represented a hospital-owned physician network in its dismantling of the network of over 200 physicians, which involved the transfer of practices back to the doctors.
Medical Staff Defense
Represented physicians, mid-level providers, nurses, and nursing assistants in medical malpractice cases in a wide variety of settings, including labor and delivery, general surgery, pathology, urology, orthopedic surgery, oncology, pediatric surgery, and neonatology.
Defended physicians, facilities, and other providers in license revocation proceedings.
Successfully defended health care system and executives in case seeking $5 million in damages arising out of alleged wrongful summary suspension of a physician’s medical staff privileges.
