The Law (In Plain English) for Doctors, Dentists and Other Health Professionals

by Duboff, Leonard D.; King, Christy O.; Murray, Michael D.

• ISBN13: 9781572486157
• ISBN10: 1572486155
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-07-01
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Inc

Summary

The Law (in Plain English) for Doctors, Dentists, and Other Health Professionals is a complete guide to the business of being a licensed medical or dental professional. It is designed to provide the licensed doctor, dentist, or other medical professional with a single, easy-to-read book that will assist in identifying most of the legal issues addressed within their practice. Topics covered include: - Employees and independent contractors - Tax considerations - Insurance - Advertising - Estate planning and the disposition of a medical or dental practice Whether you are a new doctor, dentist, or health professional or whether you have been licensed for a long time, you will find useful information for you and your business.

Author Biography

Leonard D. DuBoff is a practicing attorney, former law school professor, and past president of the Oregon Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. A recognized expert on art law and a frequent lecturer, he is the author of more than fifteen books on art law and art businessMichael D. Murray graduated from Loyola College in Maryland and from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He was a member of a national champion Jessup International Law Moot Court team at Columbia, and Notes Editor of the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. After law school, he clerked for United States District Judge John F. Nangle of the Eastern District of Missouri, and Chair of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. Murray also practiced commercial, intellectual property, and products liability litigation for seven years at Bryan Cave law firm in St. Louis. After leaving private practice, Professor Murray taught at Saint Louis University School of Law from 1998-2002.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction to the New Edition Introduction to the Original Edition

Organizing Your Business

Sole Proprietorships

Partnerships and Joint Ventures Limited Partnerships

What You Do Not Want: Unintended Partners

Corporations S Corporations Limited

Liability Companies Limited

Liability Partnerships

Minority Owners Hybrids

Business Organization Checklist

Naming Your Practice Business

Structure Officers and Owners

Capitalization

Housekeeping

Employee Benefits

Tax Treatment

Advertising Government

Regulation Problem Areas

Other Issues

People Who Work for You Independent Contractors

Employees

Employment Contracts

Other Considerations in Hiring

Hazards in the Workplace

Discrimination Harassment

Employee Handbooks

Zero Tolerance Policies

Family and Medical Leave Act

Termination of Employment

Contracts

Types of Contracts

Understanding Contract

Principles: Offer, Acceptance, and Consideration

Oral or Written Contracts?

When Written Contracts Are Required

Contracts with Businesses

Judging the Cost of Written Agreements

UCC Confirming Memorandum

Additional Terms

Summary of Essentials to Put in Writing

Borrowing from Banks

The Loan Proposal Is Your Practice Creditworthy?

Analyzing Your Practice's

Potential Options for Owners of New Practices

Short-Term or Long-Term Financing?

How Much Money Will You Need?

What Kind of Collateral Do Lenders Require?

The Loan Application

What Are the Lender's Rules and Limitations?

Details of the Agreement

The Importance of Communication When Problems Arise

Collections

Point-of-Sale Payments

Cash Credit

Cards and Debit Cards

Personal Checks

Ways of Encouraging Payment When the Payment Never Comes Bankruptcy

Renting Your Office Premises

Cost Term

Recording the Lease

Restrictions and Zoning

Remodeling Utilities: Who Pays for What?

Insurance for the Building and Common Areas Security, Hours, and Zoning Written Document

Insurance

The Basics of Insurance

Law Ascertaining

Risk Additional

State Regulation Expectations versus Reality Overinsuring and Underinsuring

Unintentional Undervaluing Property Covered

What and When to Insure

Keeping Insurance Costs

Down Common Insurable Risks

Malpractice

Negligence in General

The Standard of Care Breach of Duty Informed Consent

Defenses Vicarious Liability

Licensing and Hospital

Privileges

A Privilege, Not a Right Licensing Requirements

Denial, Suspension, or Revocation of a License to Practice Hospital Privileges

Patient Records and Privacy

Health Care Records

Content

Requirements

HIPAA Length of Retention of Records

Special Confidentiality Statutes and Considerations

Necessity of Consent

Bookkeeping and Accounting Business

Records and Accounting Business

Year Cash and Accrual Bookkeeping Methods

Current and Capital Expenditures

Financial Statements

Intangible Business Characteristics

Sources of Information on Accounting

Keeping Taxes

Low Income

Spreading Installments

Deferred Payments

Spreading Income Among Family Members

Tax Advantages and Disadvantages of Incorporation S Corporations

LLC Tax

Election Taxes on Accumulated Earnings and Passive Investment

Income Qualifying for Business Deductions

Charitable Deductions Grants, Prizes, and Awards

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Excerpt from Chapter 1: Organizing Your Business
Everyone in business-and all professionals are engaged in business-knows that survival requires careful financial planning, yet few fully realize the importance of selecting the best legal form for the business. Small health care practices have little need for the sophisticated organizational structures utilized in large, publicly traded corporations, but since all health care professionals must pay taxes, obtain loans, and expose themselves to potential liability, it only makes sense to structure a practice so as to address these issues.

Every business has an organizational form best suited to it. When we counsel people on organizing their businesses, we usually adopt a two-step approach. First, we discuss various aspects of taxation and liability in order to decide which of the basic legal structures is best. Forms that may be available for doctors, dentists, and other health care professionals are the sole proprietorship, the partnership, the corporation, the limited liability company, the limited liability partnership, and a few hybrids. Once we have decided which of these is most appropriate, we draft the organizational documents, such as partnership agreements, corporate bylaws, or operating agreements. These documents define the day-to-day operations of a business and must be tailored to individual situations.

What we offer here is an explanation of the features of each of these kinds of organizations, including their advantages and disadvantages. This should give you an idea of which form might be best for your health care practice, though it should be noted that in many states there are limitations on the organizational forms available to health care and other professionals. We will discuss potential problems, but since we cannot go into a full discussion of the more intricate details, you should consult an experienced business attorney before deciding to adopt any particular structure. Our purpose is to facilitate your communication with your lawyer and enable you to better understand your options.

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Excerpted from Law (in Plain English) for Doctors, Dentists and Other Health Professionals by Leonard DuBoff, Michael D. Murray
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.