Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Medical Spas Under Investigation In California - Is Your Practice Legal?

The California Medical and Nursing Boards are targeting "medical spas" or aesthetic practice locations where they suspect that are owned by laypersons, nurses or other non-physicians.  They are also targeting clinics or spas where there is a suspicion of unlicensed personnel performing procedures or nurses performing services but not being supervised properly.

Undercover agents are being sent in on a regular basis. Additional investigators have been hired to help conduct these investigations. In some cases, misdemeanor charges for the unlicensed practice of medicine or aiding and abetting the unlicensed practice are being filed.  I have a number of cases where Board investigations are ongoing, cases where we have successfully closed the investigations, and a recent case where a physician, nurse and unlicensed persons were charged criminally (more about that later). In addition, disciplinary charges are being brought against some professionals for their involvement in medical spas that were not structured properly or were not being operated within all the proper legal parameters.

How Does The Board Decide Who To Investigate?

Typically, the investigations are generated by complaints by competitors. Many times the complaints are anonymous and sometimes they are someone affiliated with a competitor. It takes only a simple complaint such as "Practice X is being run and operated by a nurse" to generate a full investigation.

There are also complaints by patients which trigger these investigations -- a quality of care complaint will ultimately raise the questions of who owns the business being investigated and who are the physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners or nurses involved in supervision, treatment or ownership.

How Can I Prepare For These Investigations?

It is best to prepare in advance -- long before any investigator comes to your office. Hiring legal counsel knowledgeable about this field can help you save money and legal problems in the long run. If you know that your business is not structured properly -- NOW is the time to restructure and become compliant with all laws, rules and regulations. Restructuring and compliance not only includes ownership issues but also practice and supervision issues, websites, advertising, payment arrangements and related business issues. It is much cheaper to pay for preventative legal counsel than to pay for the defense of an investigation, administrative action or criminal case.

Do NOT be afraid that if you make changes now it will "look suspicious" or imply that you were doing it wrong before. The Boards look for current compliance. If you made mistakes in the past, fix them and move on so you are compliant.

The California Medical Board has publications on its website that are informative as to what is legal and what is not legal and serves as notice to physicians on this issue. For example, "The Bottom Line: The Business of Medicine - Medical Spas" warns physicians about being "medical directors" and lending their license for clinics or spas for which they have no legal ownership or responsibility. In addition, the Medical Board has a publication entitled "Use of Mid-Level Practitioners for Laser, Dermabrators, Botox and Other Treatments" that is a helpful outline and should be read by anyone in this business.

In addition, it is important to understand that California is a state that does not allow the "corporate practice of medicine" or ownership of a medical practice by unlicensed professionals. However, there are ways to structure professional medical corporations that are owned 51% by a physician and 49% by other licensed health care professionals such as nurses, physician assistants or nurse practitioners.


What Should I Do If An Investigator Sends Me A Letter Or Comes To My Office?

Do NOT agree to be interviewed without legal counsel. Be friendly and arrange for any interview to be held while you have your counsel present. If you believe you are legally compliant, get together all the business records, delegation of service agreements, protocols and other information you will need. If you are not legally compliant, it is time to do so ASAP. Do not get paralyzed and take action.


What Type Of Cases Go Criminal?

Based on my experience, the cases that go criminal are where unlicensed personnel like medical assistants are performing procedures such as laser hair removal, Botox, etc. or where the corporate structure of the business is illegal on its face (the nurse or nursing corporation owns the business and the physician is a "medical director" for little or no pay).  In one recent case, not only was there an illegal structure but the physician and nurse submitted to interviews and admitted to damaging facts.

An important rule is do NOT agree to be interviewed without legal counsel. Be friendly but insistent that any interview be held later. Then have your attorney arrange for any interview to be held at a later date.

In sum, most cases do not result in criminal charges. However, if your business is not legally structured, now is the time to fix this issue before anything else happens. I have had numerous clients who were not structured legally -- but I helped them become legally compliant long before any investigator showed up at their office or right after the investigator from the Department of Consumer Affairs sent a letter.

Posted by Tracy Green, Esq. Please email Ms. Green at tgreen@greenassoc.com or call her at 213-233-2260 to schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation.  

Any questions or comments  should be directed to Tracy Green, a very experienced medical spa attorney, health care law attorney, and Medical Board and Nursing Board attorney at tgreen@greenassoc.com. See the difference that having an experienced lawyer makes.

The firm focuses its practice on the representation of licensed professionals, individuals and businesses in civil, business, administrative and criminal proceedings. They have a specialty in representing licensed health care providers and in administrative board and discipline matters in California and throughout the country. They are currently accepting new clients. Their website is: http://www.greenassoc.com/















DISCLAIMER

DISCLAIMER: Green & Associates' articles and blog postings are prepared as a service to the public and are not intended to grant rights or impose obligations. Nothing in this website should be construed as legal advice. Green & Associates' articles and blog postings may contain references or links to statutes, regulations, or other policy materials. The information provided is only intended to be a general summary. It is not intended to take the place of either the written law or regulations. We encourage readers to review the specific statutes, regulations, and other interpretive materials for a full and accurate statement of their contents and contact their attorney for legal advice. The primary purpose of this website is not the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service and this website is not an advertisement or solicitation. Anyone viewing this web site in a state where the web site fails to comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state, should disregard this web site.

The information provided on this website is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to create, and does not create, a lawyer-client relationship with Green & Associates, Attorneys at Law. Sending an e-mail to Tracy Green does not contractually obligate them to represent you as your lawyer, or create any type of client relationship. No attorney-client relationship will be formed absent a written engagement or retainer letter agreement signed by both Green & Associates and client and which specifies the scope of the engagement.

Please note that e-mail transmission is not secure unless it is encrypted. E-mail messages sent to Ms. Green should not include confidential or sensitive information.