Helped Clients Recover Over $25 Billion. Since 1979.
Helped Clients Recover Over $25 Billion. Since 1979.
Physicians are asked to sign agreements written by management companies, pharmacies, groups, and vendors, and those agreements often favor the side that wrote them. The Schenk Law Firm reviews the terms, explains what they mean for your practice and your income, and negotiates changes.
Management Company Agreements
We review agreements with management companies, including control of billings, reserves, fees, and termination rights, and we send a redline.
Pharmacy and Vendor Proposals
When a pharmacy or vendor proposes to manage or partner with part of your practice, we review the proposal and respond on your behalf.
Independent Contractor Agreements
We review agreements for physicians working as independent contractors, including notice periods, patient obligations, and malpractice tail coverage.
HIPAA Business Associate Agreements
We review and redline business associate agreements so they match how patient information will actually be handled.
NDAs for Practice Deals
We prepare and review mutual nondisclosure agreements when a practice starts talks with a buyer, partner, or vendor.
Leaving an Arrangement
We advise on how to give notice and wind down an arrangement while meeting your obligations to patients.
The agreement puts all my billings in their account.
That gives the other side control of your revenue. Ask for regular statements, access to the account, and a limit on any reserve they can hold back.
Is the fee negotiable?
Often, yes. Fees can differ by type of work, and services you perform away from their facility may justify a lower rate.
How do I get out if it doesn’t work?
Check the term, the notice period, and what you owe after termination, including any restriction on seeing patients and the cost of malpractice tail coverage.
They sent a HIPAA business associate agreement too.
It should be a separate agreement that fits the actual flow of patient information, with clear rules for breaches and the return of records.
A buyer wants to talk about my practice.
Sign a mutual NDA before sharing financial or patient-related information, and keep patient records out of the early stages.
Experience
David Lizerbram has practiced business law for more than two decades. Benjamin Schenk founded and runs a commercial real estate investment and asset management firm.
Written Recommendations
We give you our comments in writing along with the redline, so you can see what we changed and why.
Fixed-Fee Reviews
Many contract reviews can be quoted as a fixed fee.
Case Study
A physician was asked to sign a management company’s agreement that would put all of his billings in an account the company controlled and let it hold back an undefined reserve. We reviewed the agreement on a fixed fee and sent written recommendations and a redline. We asked for a capped reserve, regular statements, access to the account, a lower fee on work done away from the company’s facility, a longer window to bring claims, and a standalone HIPAA business associate agreement. The company accepted our changes.
Case Study
A pharmacy offered to manage the infusion center a physician ran within his practice, under an agreement he considered one-sided. We reviewed the proposal and sent a letter on his behalf that set out his position. The pharmacy came back through its lawyer with an offer to buy the business instead.
Client names and identifying details are withheld. Results depend on the facts of each matter, and past results don’t guarantee a similar outcome.
The Schenk Law Firm is based in North Park, San Diego. We review agreements for physicians throughout California.
Our full healthcare business practice.
Management companies and how they can be paid.
Professional medical corporations and their state filings.
Structure, agreements, and transactions for medical practices.
Contract Drafting & Negotiation
Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating the agreements a business runs on.
Buying or selling a practice.
Terms are easiest to change before you sign. Send us the agreement and we’ll tell you what to ask for.
Contact us today to discuss your contract.
Request a ConsultationIt’s insurance that covers claims made after a claims-made policy ends, for care you provided while it was in force. Agreements should say who pays for it when the arrangement ends.
A clear purpose, a fixed cap, a schedule for releasing the money, and regular statements showing the balance.
It depends on the agreement and California law, which limits many restrictions on competition. Your patient-care obligations still apply, so plan the notice carefully.
Most reviews take a few days, depending on the length of the agreement and how quickly the other side responds.