Healthcare Empowered
Look better. Feel better. Fountain of youth promises are making med spas one of the fastest-growing segments in healthcare. Botox injections, laser hair removal, IV hydration and therapy, medical weight loss, and hormone therapy seem to be available on every corner. But most med spas are not compliant with Texas law. Either they are formed […]
What is a med spa? The American Med Spa Association defines a medical spa as a hybrid between an aesthetic medical center and a day spa” with four core elements: (1) the provision of non-invasive (i.e. non-surgical) aesthetic medical services; (2) under the general supervision of a licensed physician; (3) performed by trained, experienced and […]
This is a four-part series on Handling Licensing Board Investigations from Complaint to SOAH Hearing. In preparation for this series, I talked to several of the staff attorneys and investigators for the Texas Medical Board, the Board of Nursing, and the Board of Chiropractic Examiners. I asked them what advice they would give lawyers practicing […]
This is a four-part series on Handling Licensing Board Investigations from Complaint to SOAH Hearing. In preparation for this series, I talked to several of the staff attorneys and investigators for the Texas Medical Board, the Board of Nursing, and the Board of Chiropractic Examiners. I asked them what advice they would give lawyers practicing […]
I have been practicing health law for more than 25 years and have had the benefit of working with a lot of healthcare providers. My clients will often repeat myths about the practice of healthcare they have heard from their colleagues. There are also occasions when my fellow attorneys will make assumptions about healthcare law […]
For much of the past decade, peripheral neurostimulator devices have been used liberally by some practitioners to treat chronic pain. In addition to pain relief, any manufacturers also promise providers that these devices are reimbursable by Medicare. This combination of relief and reimbursement has proven irresistible. Why not use a device that gives patients relief […]
One of the immutable truths about healthcare is that it can take a long time to get paid. Though Texas has a prompt payment statute,[efn_note]Texas Insurance Code, Ch. 542[/efn_note] it can take 60 days or longer for a claim to be paid. Disputed claims can get pushed out an additional 60 days. The wait is […]
Med spa growth across Texas and the nation continues to increase. The American Med Spa Association (AmSpa) found in 2018 that there were 5,431 med spas in the United States with average revenue of more than $1.5 million. That was up by 9% from the year before.1 Revenues during 2020 were strong relative to other […]
The FDA issued warning letters to five companies for violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) related to the sale of cannabidiol (CBD) products. CBD is the primary non-psychotropic compound in Cannabis sativa plant. The FDA stated the companies who were served warning letters illegally marketed CBD products for the treatment […]
An interesting read regarding the use of federal regulatory compliance issues (e.g impermissible healthcare kickbacks) to support a state court tort claim. The plaintiffs sued the manufacturer of a immunoglobulin infusion product alleging that the manufacturer improperly induced a physician to misdiagnose their condition by paying the physician impermissible kickbacks through bonuses and commissions. The […]