What Healthcare Practitioners Need To Know about S-Corps

In New York State, the only two (2) legal entities that are allowed for licensed healthcare professionals are professional service corporations (PC) or professional limited liability corporations, (PLLC). There can be some confusion on whether an “S-Corp” is a legal entity to be formed with the New York State Department of State.

Attention Practitioners: Don’t Forget the Sales Tax When Purchasing a Practice

When a practitioner purchases a practice, they tend to purchase more than just the goodwill. If there is equipment, inventory, or supplies, there is a State Sales Tax that is required to be paid within a certain time period after the closing. It is vital that the purchaser understands their obligations as it relates to the payment of this tax after the closing has been finalized. 

Listen Live: WealthStyle For Medical and Dental Practitioners

Recently I was featured in WealthStyle Podcast‘s Q and A hosted by financial planner Iván Watanabe. Ivan works with medical and dental practitioners who are just graduating from fellowship or residency. He asked me about some of the issues that these newly minted practitioners should concentrate on including:

Alternative Revenue Streams for Parched Medical Practices (During COVID-19 And Otherwise)

Now that we are well in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians and dentists are searching for ways to make patients feel comfortable enough to seek treatment. A few ideas are becoming popular, depending upon the type of specialty, the type of care, the type of treatment that is required, and, most importantly, the patient’s comfort level. 

Healthcare Practitioners’ Employment Contracts Seminar in October 2020

Next month, I am presenting a seminar on employment contracts for healthcare practitioners through lawline.com. Lawline uses online videos and seminars to offer CLE-bearing courses to attorneys, though non-attorneys are welcome to watch and download any course materials as well. My goal is to help my audience — especially healthcare practitioners — understand what to look for and how certain contract clauses will have an impact in the future.

COVID-19 Consent Forms For Patients

Many practitioners are beginning to institute consent forms for voluntary, non-emergency treatments in an effort to limit the liability of their practices. The forms may state language similar to the following: 

• Coronavirus is highly contagious and there are known risks of contracting the virus, including hospitalization and death;
• the patient confirms that they do not exhibit any symptoms, especially fever; 
• the patient has read over the office protocols and guidelines;
• the patient agrees and acknowledges that they are coming in for a non-emergency, voluntary form of treatment; and 
• knowing the potential risk involved, the patient still agrees to come into the office for the treatment , and they release the office from any liability with respect to the virus.

Guidelines for Re-Opening Healthcare Practices During COVID-19

Healthcare practitioners must ensure their patients and staff feel safe in the practice. What steps should be taken to offer a clean, sanitized, and compliant office? 

Generally, practices have already adopted protocols, such as inquiring about a patient’s covid status, including the onset of any symptoms within the last two weeks prior to their scheduled appointments, to aid in safety precautions. In this article, I would like to share some tips that are a little less well known:

Coronavirus: What Should Medical/Dental Practices Do?

At the time of this writing, New York has declared a state of emergency in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. There are some questions regarding what steps medical and dental practices can make moving forward during this period of unknown. Although New York has not implemented any new rules or laws regarding the virus, as of yet, there are certain best practices that offices should be aware of to proactively combat what we are currently facing as a nation.

A Reminder to Practitioners About Patients’ Financial Forms

In any practice, there are a number of forms that must be signed by patients. These may include the following: HIPAA privacy forms, consent for treatment, general office policies and a health/dental history form. Invariably, there will also be a financial policy form that provides the patient notice of what payments they will be responsible for as it relates to the rendered medical/dental services. 

Business Name Approval For Your Practice – What You Need to Know

When a practitioner is thinking of forming a new practice — or if they are purchasing a practice — forming a legal entity is often part of the process. In New York, their choices are a professional service corporation (PC) or a professional service limited liability company (PLLC). In order to form either type of entity, the practitioner must first apply to  the New York State Department of Education (DOE) to get approval of the practice name and verification of their license before they can file any of the documents with the New York State Department of State.