A healthcare attorney can help you with various issues in your business. They can help you create policies that will prevent you from being sued, and they can also provide advice regarding malpractice insurance.
Whether you’re an individual physician, a small or large medical facility, or a medical corporation, Holland & Knight’s health law practice can help you with any legal issues.
Hire a Healthcare Attorney
Healthcare attorneys represent hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, labs, and other medical facilities. They know the laws surrounding healthcare like the back of their hands and can help protect your practice from being sued by patients or other businesses.
They can help with a wide range of issues related to the healthcare industry, including regulatory compliance and transactional matters. For example, they can help you incorporate a medical practice or entity, draft vendor and technology contracts, assist with insurance-related issues, and more.
A healthcare attorney can also help you defend against allegations of malpractice or other forms of abuse. These accusations can destroy a medical organization’s reputation and financial livelihood, so having an experienced lawyer by your side is essential to help minimize the damage.
In addition, a healthcare attorney can help you develop policies and procedures that will prevent these issues from occurring in the first place. This will save your organization time and money in the long run. Plus, it will ensure that your patients’ rights are always protected.
Make Sure All Doctors Have Malpractice Insurance
When medical professionals receive a patient complaint, it is essential to have malpractice insurance in place. This type of insurance will cover the costs of a malpractice lawsuit, including attorney fees, court expenses, and awards awarded to the plaintiff.
Even though doctors are trained to help their patients, mistakes can occur during treatment. These errors can lead to lawsuits, which can be costly and damaging to a physician’s reputation and career.
The best way to limit malpractice suits is by taking the time to thoroughly review each case, following procedures, and keeping thorough documentation. An experienced healthcare attorney can help ensure that all of this is done correctly, making it more challenging to win a malpractice suit.
Most medical professionals are required to have malpractice insurance by their employers, but it is also possible for individual doctors to purchase their policies. They can also join a group policy through a medical risk retention group (RRG). These policies typically provide claims-made and occurrence coverage, which covers damages for a claim made while the policy is in effect.
Have a Plan in Place in Case of a Malpractice Suit
Malpractice claims are a common concern for physicians. They involve allegations of a violation of professional medical protocol that caused injury to the patient and resulted in damages. There are four malpractice elements that a claim must have: a duty owed by the physician, a breach of that duty, injury caused by the breach, and damages.
Often, the injured party will be represented by a plaintiff’s attorney or, in the case of a child, someone like this birth injury lawyer working with the family on behalf of the child. They will often have an expert witness to help them prove their case. This is why it is so important for doctors to have a team in place in case of a lawsuit.
It is also vital that the entire staff has a good understanding of what constitutes medical malpractice. Everyone from the front desk receptionist to the office administrator should understand that any mistake could be grounds for a malpractice suit. Proper documentation is critical in this regard, as well. It is essential to write legibly, date every entry, and identify all individuals involved in the document. This will make it easier to defend against a malpractice lawsuit should the need arise.
Have a Plan in Place in Case of a Data Breach
Data breaches can be devastating for businesses and consumers alike. They happen when hackers steal confidential information from a business and then share it with someone else. This could be a disgruntled employee, an ex-employee with access to the company’s systems, or a criminal looking to make money or get revenge.
When a breach occurs, it is essential to have a plan in place to mitigate the damage as quickly and thoroughly as possible. This plan should include a step-by-step process for how to respond to the breach, and it should also include steps for remediation.
For example, hiring an independent forensics team is a good idea. This can help you determine precisely what information was accessed and how it was obtained. It can also help you to determine what vulnerabilities caused the breach so that you can fix them.
You should also make sure to change your passwords on any affected systems. This should be done immediately; changing them on your online accounts is also a good idea.
Have a Plan in Place in Case of a Cyber Attack
An incident response plan is one of the best ways to protect your practice from cyber-attacks and data breaches. It will help you respond to any incidents as quickly and efficiently as possible to minimize the impact. This will prevent damage to your reputation, minimize disruption of daily operations, and protect your patients’ sensitive information.
In addition to having an incident response plan, you should also educate your staff on the importance of security. This includes educating them on recognizing suspicious emails and not opening attachments from unknown senders. You can also purchase insurance covering some of the costs associated with a data breach.
Healthcare practices are vulnerable to data breaches and hacks because they contain confidential patient information. Some of this information may even include social security numbers and medical histories. Data breaches like the Department of Health and Human Services fines can seriously affect healthcare practice. It can also affect patient trust.
