Texas Business Organizations Code Section 5.058 states that the name of a professional association must contain:

(1) the word “associated” “associates” or “association”;
(2) the phrase “professional association”; or
(3) an abbreviation of one of those words or that phrase.

Thus, if your name was Bill Snyder and you were launching your own private practice, your official practice name could be:

(1) Bill Snyder, M.D., Associated
(2) Bill Snyder, M.D., Association
(3) Bill Snyder, M.D., Professional Association
(4) Bill Snyder, M.D., PA

Of course, you have the option to use a different name than your personal name, such as “Dallas Allergy Association.”

When a physician becomes part-owner of an established medical practice, many documents can be used to evidence the purchase. The purchase agreement is one of these documents and should include the physician’s ownership percentage, purchase price, and payment terms. This document usually provides representations and warranties by the seller and the practice, in order to disclose pertinent information about the practice being bought into, such as:

(a) assets and liabilities of the medical practice;
(b) current standing with the state’s medical board;
(c) current standing with the IRS and other tax entities;
(d) all exhibited documents reflect the medical practice’s history;
(e) all billing has been done in compliance with CMS and other law; and
(f) the purchase agreement does not violate any other agreements which the medical practice may be bound.

Don’t let your enthusiasm for “arriving” in your medical career interfere with proper procedure.

The latest copy of Headnotes, Dallas Bar Association’s monthly newspaper, arrived in my mailbox today and I was happy to see that it was focused on Health Law. Of course, no health law survey would be complete without an article trying to summarize Anti-Kickback and Stark Law.

The author, Kimberly Elting, did a fantastic job summarizing those and other connected issues. However, I think we shouldn’t summarize such terribly drafted law simply because it rewards poor drafting.

That is, any law that has an exception to the exception of the law’s main exception is poorly drafted and should be revised.

While I enjoyed the constant back-and-forth action in this year’s Fiesta Bowl, such back-and-forth is painful in reading law…and I’m a lawyer. I can only imagine how the physician wondering if he can open up a new facility feels.

Before I opened up my private law practice, I negotiated a physician-hospital joint venture. The administration-physician rivalry showed up during dinner with the hospital CEO and he made it pretty clear what his answer to this post’s title would be.

As the son of two physicians, I have a genetic bias but I do see both sides. Regardless, I believe enough law exists to prevent physician-hospital joint ventures that the rivalry becomes less of an issue getting the deal done and providing more medical services to the community.

I’ve learned two truths in life. First, if you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait a minute. Second, if you don’t like the answer from CMS, hang up and call back.

It’s almost like the people on the front lines at CMS are issued Magic 8-balls instead of CMS compliance manuals. I understand healthcare law changes quickly, but isn’t that true for all areas of law? Of course, it may just be due to personnel resources. I can only imagine the sheer number of calls they receive each day. But wouldn’t it be more prudent to give healthcare practitioners no information and a referral to a healthcare lawyer as opposed to mixed-information?

The Texas Supreme Court recently relaxed the requirements for non-compete covenants in Alex Sheshunoff Management Services, LP v. Johnson.

With Sheshunoff, employers are no longer required to provide an employee with confidential information and training at the same time the employee signs a non-compete agreement.

Thus, healthcare employers and employees should consider reviewing existing and future non-compete agreements with their counsel to assess enforceability.