Legal

Which is more serious: heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease? Though they are basically the same thing, the "medicalese" name distorts the perception of the condition as more serious, according to a recent study.

The Food and Drug Administration is considering an advisory committee recommendation to ban the use of two drugs for asthma treatment in adults and children.

Several colleagues and I would like to open a diagnostic center with lab, CT, MRI, and X-ray capabilities. We are all independent primary care practitioners in separate offices. How can we do this and avoid Stark Law violations?

Do the FTC's "red flags" rules apply to physician practices?

Two of the nation's largest commercial health insurance organizations unveiled pledges to provide coverage for all Americans despite their pre-existing conditions - as long as all health plans comply with the mandate.

Physicians sometimes see reforms that lawmakers do not.

My understanding of HIPAA is that we should not recopy records obtained from other providers. Can you clarify this?

What risks are involved in private physician offices providing care to their own employees? Is this a good idea for either the doctor or employee?

An amendment to the Massachusetts law that requires all residents to maintain health insurance includes several provisions that appear to equate nurse practitioners with primary care doctors.

Just days after the election, Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) unveiled a broad-reaching and primary-care-focused reform plan.

A Medicare bill introduced in July would require physicians to disclose to patients any self-referral of imaging services such as MRIs and CT scans.

We have received a letter from an insurance company requesting 25 charts because the company thinks that we may have "overcoded" some patient visits. Do I need legal advice?

Is it ok to include patient records in legal documents?

Think twice before you band together with other physicians to harm a competitor.

The Wisconsin Medical Society has prohibited its members from accepting gifts from any provider of products that they prescribe to their patients.

Contingency fees are the primary reason for such close scrutiny of extraneous legal issues by plaintiffs' attorneys.

Aetna will be the first health insurance company to link its online database of medical providers to a directory maintained by the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

Every physician has a noncompliant patient. The problem arises when the patient doesn't want to leave, and you don't know how to get rid of him.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will expand its six-state Recovery Audit Contractor program to all 50 states by the end of 2009.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have told Illinois legislators that the state's 'certificate of need' law is anti-competitive and stifles innovation.

Eli Lilly and Merck announced their plans to release information concerning their payments to physicians for speaking engagements and advisory services.

Simply because you are in compliance with federal debt collection laws does not mean that you are in compliance with all state laws.

I've been asked to serve on my hospital's quality-assurance committee. If I accept, should I buy more liability insurance to protect myself in case of an antitrust or defamation lawsuit?

Besides the obviously heavy toll that preventable post-surgery deaths take on patients and their families, the mistakes also have a high cost to insurers and employers.