Total Health Law Blog
Our healthcare and business law firm works with many physician and other health care providers who own their own medical practice. The Georgia Medical Board and Georgia Legislature, as well as many other state medical boards and legislatures, have noted concern with consumer confusion with the numerous titles held by non-physician health care practitioners. For instance, “In a survey done a few years ago by the AMA, 39% of patients thought a Doctor of Nursing Practice was a physician and 11% weren’t sure. Half were either completely wrong or confused by a title. More than half (61%) thought a Doctor of Medical Science was a physician, which is completely incorrect.” M. Blackman, J. Commins, “Industry Stakeholders Divided on GA ‘Truth and Transparency’ Act,” Health Leaders Media (May 25, 2023). This and other information caused the Georgia Legislature to act in an attempt to protect consumers from misunderstandings. That change resulted in Senate Bill 197, known as the Health Care Practitioners Truth and Transparency Act, which was signed into law in May of 2023. The bill made changes to the “Consumer Protection and Awareness Act,” O.C.G.A. Section 43-1-33. Importantly, the legislatures concern here seemed to arise less from intentional or malicious misstatements from health care practitioners, and more from consumer misinformation/misunderstanding caused honestly by the numerous titles and credentials that may be held by practitioners that consumers do not understand.
This post identifies three key provisions with the Health Care Practitioners Truth and Transparency Act. If you have questions regarding this blog post or would like to speak with counsel regarding laws that may impact you or your medical spa practice, you may contact us at (404) 685-1662 (Atlanta) or (706) 722-7886 (Augusta), or by email, info@hamillittle.com. You may also learn more about our law firm by visiting www.hamillittle.com.
- Expansion of Definition of and Rules for “Advertisements”
Our healthcare and business law firm works with many providers and other allied health professionals who are beginning their journeys of opening a Medical Spa. They have been 
Our healthcare and business law firm works with many providers and other allied health professionals who are beginning their journeys of opening a Medical Spa. Medical Spas have been 
Our healthcare and business law firm often assists physicians and other providers in obtaining and maintaining licensure. Sometimes, physicians desire assistance to ensure a smooth process without having any occurrences to disclose. The majority of the time, however, when we are hired to assist in licensure matters, the physician has a past or ongoing event that they need assistance with. We usually begin by evaluating whether the occurrence must be, should be, or need not be disclosed. One important question that is always present and concerning to many is the mental health question, which is also the first question on the Applicant Questionnaire section of the license application in Georgia. There have been different iterations of this question over the years, and earlier this year, the Medical Board modified the questions once again. This post explains the progression of this question in Georgia. If you need 
Our healthcare and business law firm often assists medical practices in responding to medical record and coding audits initiated by private and governmental payors. If a payor believes there are consistent concerns with a medical practice’s claims, the payor may place the practice under a prepayment review process. This process can be very concerning to a practice and, in some cases, can place a practice at risk of shutting down. A previous post provided an 
Our healthcare and business law firm often assists medical practices in responding to medical record and coding audits initiated by private and governmental payors. Responding to each payor is unique. The way I might respond to a private payor may differ from how I respond to a government payor. This post, however, provides a few tried-and-true tips to consider when faced with an audit. If you have questions about an 
Our healthcare and business law firm often assists physicians and other providers in employment matters, from reviewing proposed contracts to litigating 
Our healthcare and business law firm often assists physicians and other providers in employment matters, from reviewing proposed contracts to litigating 
After the CDC issued its 2016 Opioid Prescribing Guideline, which focused on recommendations for primary care physicians, many physicians greatly limited prescribing opioids. This was in response to the opioid epidemic in our country which had an impact on reducing opioid abuse. However, it also may have left patients undertreated for pain given the 2016 guideline’s emphasis on not prescribing opioids. In November 2022, the CDC issued updated guidance for a broader group of clinicians. This blog series provides an overview of the more-than-60-page CDC guidance. This first blog will provide an overview of what the guidance is intended to accomplish and how it is presented. Our attorneys are experienced in advising healthcare businesses and pain management practices. If you have 
As a healthcare and business law firm, we have many clients who either are or wish to hire nurse practitioners around the country. Each state has very specific, and often complicated, laws and rules governing nurse practitioner practices. In 2020, Florida introduced a new law allowing certain nurse practitioners to practice autonomously, which Florida has sense been expanding on and clarifying. Herein is an overview of Florida’s autonomous practice law. If you have scope of practice or other