Page 26 - CANNABIS NEWS FLORIDA JULY 2020

After COVID-19 - Reopening Your Medical Practice

The COVID-19 pandemic insurance policies. treated for a medical condition, like adopt telemedicine as a mechanism for
has caused physicians to make One question to ask is COVID-19, or as the result of an injury delivering health care services and/or, like
many alterations in their prac- whether there was some suffered while working. If limited to an some other businesses, begin providing
tices; increasing their reliance event that was not ade- employee’s accrued sick leave. he or she home services to patients?
on telemedicine, restricting quately addressed in these can quickly exhaust that allowance, even
patients’ access to the prac- documents, or that needs when the recovery period for a condition Begin Now
tice’s office, and reducing staff. to be considered if of a such as COVID-19 is measured in weeks. The physicians in a medical practice
Many medical practices have similar future event Another operational issue is determin- (owners and employees) should begin
been operating at less than occurs. For example: ing whether the practice’s compliance plan reviewing how and addressing what
“full speed” for the past four • What happens if an was robust enough to ensure the business- changes need to be made to their business.
or five months. Now, the situ- important physician-own - es’ compliance with all relevant state and If they have not begun this process already,
ation appears to be changing. er becomes ill; is there federal requirements. there is an increasing likelihood their med-
As this is being written the BY STEPHEN H. SIEGEL, insurance that will indem- ical practice will not adapt to the changes
state and county restrictions ESQ. nify the practice for the Clinical we are beginning to see in a post-COVID-
on conducting business, loss of that physician’s rev- Probably the category generating the 19 medical industry. So, begin now.
including medical practices, are being lift- enue? most attention involves the clinical habits, Assemble the practice’s governing body
ed. Everyone wants to return to their lives • What happens if a vendor, who sup- routines and procedures medical practices and trusted advisors (these professionals
and businesses prior to COVID-19. For a plies a critical item or service, is not able to will need to consider as their practices should include its attorney, accountant,
physician, this period of “ramping up” do so; can the practice seek that item or begin reviving. For example, before insurance broker, banker, billing consult-
his/her medical practice offers an opportu- service from another vendor and is it enti- COVID-19 the use of face masks and ant, and asset manager) to begin this
nity to reassess past habits, routines and tled to indemnification if there is a higher gloves during an office visit was limited. review process. When the next business
procedures; identify those that may need cost? Now, patients expect to see their physi- interruption happens, the owners will be
to be revised in order to conduct business • Did the practice have sufficient busi- cians and staff using these items. A ques- glad they are proactive.
in a post-COVID-19 world, and make ness interruption coverage to meet its tion now is whether additional patient
those revisions. ongoing obligations? protective equipment (“PPE”) should be Stephen Siegel, Esq., Florida Bar Certified-
For the sake of simplicity, this article After all, the likelihood of another event worn each time a patient is seen? Health Lawyer, Health Care Compliance
divides these habits, routines, and proce- that will disrupt the practice’s business From a patient’s perspective, one of the Association certified in Healthcare
dures into three categories - structural, substantially (for example, another pan- few benefits of this pandemic is the Compliance and Healthcare Privacy
operational, and clinical. NOTE: These demic or the damage caused by a major absence of long waiting times when they Compliance, and Partner, Lubell Rosen, can
categories are neither exclusive nor hurricane) is something that should be see a physician in-person. Will medical be reached at shs@lubellrosen.com
exhaustive. Rather, they provide one way anticipated. practices abandon double booking and or (305) 655-3425.
to categorize, identify, and address the adopt scheduling protocols carrying this
changes a medical practice should consid- Operational situation forward? Similarly, will practices
er making in the wake of COVID-19. The need to retain, furlough, or termi-
nate employees because business during
Structural the pandemic was poor is best addressed
This category focuses on the legal doc- before another pandemic, hurricane, etc.,
uments that address how the practice strikes. These questions include whether
operates and with whom it does busi- the practice “ You can’t separate the clinical
ness. These include the practice’s basic • has adopted sufficient policies and and the fi nancial – not anymore.”
organizational documents, that is the procedures, incorporated them into an
practice’s bylaws, partnership, and physi- employee handbook, and made sure every
cian employment/retention agreements, employee receives a copy of that hand- People who know Healthcare, know BDO.
as well as its relationships with key ven- book; and
dor agreements, referral sources, and • what to do if an employee needs to be

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WEE S U L A SA TE T E O U R ST U TU DE EN TSS S, , GR RA A DU UAA A S AESTETE ND I N IN ST R TR U CT O TO RS W O RK KII N IN G O N HETHTHE F R FR O NT L TLI N INE ES S O F C OV VII . 9 1 - D ID
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o o N s l l t all su hhrpuper eroe s s
The BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation
w rae wear ca p pes . . s As the healthcare industry enters an era of unprecedented transformation, anticipating and
understanding the future state model of healthcare is more important than ever. From advising on
m m o So e wewe . . s b u r crubs complex joint ventures, to M&A services, to healthcare redesign, BDO’s multidisciplinary teams help
eaar sc
organizations plan for and implement the fi nancial and clinical changes needed to transform their
institutions — and thrive in the years to come.
Alfredo Cepero, 305-420-8006 / acepero@bdo.com
Angelo Pirozzi, 646-520-2870 / apirozzi@bdo.com

@BDOHealth www.bdo.com/blogs/healthcare
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