Posted 5/20/10 ...

Independent diagnostic testing facility (IDTF) requirements were significantly changed in 2008, but we continue to see arrangements that do not reflect the current Medicare requirements. The changes included a new prohibition against an IDTF’s sharing of space, equipment, or staff with another Medicare-enrolled  individual or organization (such as a physician practice).  These changes effectively eliminate block-leasing and time-sharing arrangements.  At the same time, requirements which in some cases called for a physician practice to enroll as an IDTF if it accepted imaging patients from outside physicians have been eliminated.  The current requirements raise some uncertainties that should be clarified, so this is an area that bears monitoring.

Posted 7/23/09

Corporate practice of medicine issues continue to arise with frequency in Saphier and Heller's California health law practice. These issues can be especially problematical in the context of physician practice management contracts, when a management company owned by non-physicians seeks to control the professional fees charged in a clinic, to exercise other controls over the business aspects of the practice, to have the right to arrange for a new physician owner to take the place of the current owner, or to set the management fee at a particularly high level. The level of the management fee is particularly important, as the arrangement can trigger further legal issues, including fee-splitting and referral fee concerns. Management agreements can and do present other legal issues, as well, so care in their preparation clearly is warranted.

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