Legal

Less than half of the eligible patients who frequently visit their primary care physician receive recommended colorectal cancer screenings, according to a recent study.

On the heels of a $350 million class-action lawsuit settlement with UnitedHealthcare in January concerning underpayment for out-of-network services, the American Medical Association, along with numerous state medical societies, launched two similar class-action suits against health insurers CIGNA and ætna in early February.

In 48 out of 50 U.S. states, the law has decided for you how to handle requests for assisted suicide: It is illegal.

The Texas Medical Association is fighting the ability of health plans to revoke a patient's policy-and your payments-after claims have been filed.

Two U.S. senators resubmitted legislation from the last congressional session that would require public disclosure of physicians' financial ties to pharmacy companies and device manufacturers.

What is your obligation when confronted with parents who are unwilling to accept medical advice in the best interest of their child because of their religious convictions?

The current fee-for-service model used by the U.S. healthcare system is costly and ineffective for physicians and patients, according to two recent reports in influential health-policy journals.

It's widely known that obesity translates to a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, hospitalization, and early death. So why don't more doctors discuss it with their patients?

An analysis of 11 leading U.S. government health-care reform proposals, large and small, concludes that a package submitted in 2007 by Rep. Pete Stark would increase federal spending the most but provide the largest overall cost reduction.

An agreement between the state of New York and UnitedHealth Group may drastically affect out-of-network care reimbursement for you and your patients.

How one urinalysis reflects the state of U.S. health care.

Do I absolutely need to buy tail coverage before I retire?

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.