Health Law Advisor

By: Michael Thompson

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSRs) are “outside salesmen” who are not entitled to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The high court’s ruling was predicated on its finding that, in the pharmaceutical industry’s “unique regulatory environment,” the commitments obtained by PSRs equate to traditional sales. Furthermore, the Supreme Court rebuked the Department of Labor (DOL) for “unfairly surprising” the industry by filing amicus briefs arguing that PSRs were not ...

Each party should be aware of key issues before preparing to negotiate transition services agreements

As I type this blog post, I would not be surprised if suddenly my computer froze, and I had to call the help desk.  While calling the help desk can sometimes seem like an annoyance, having a central function to deal with all information technology (IT) issues is actually essential to ensuring that hospitals and health systems are able to effectively close a merger transaction.

In fact, IT has become indispensable for many hospital and system functions, including for patient care and core ...

Written By: Adam C. Abrahms

Continuing its effort to “outreach” to non-union employees and educate them on their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB has launched a new webpage on Concerted Activity.  The NLRB’s announcement  of its new webpage made clear the page is designed to inform employees of their rights “even if they are not in a union.”  

The webpage, in addition to giving basic descriptions of concerted activities, asserts that “The law we enforce gives employees the right to act together to try to improve their pay and working conditions or fix ...

Epstein Becker Green is proud to announce that it has received the 2012 Chambers USA Award for Excellence in the Healthcare category. The results were announced at an awards dinner held on Thursday, June 7, 2012, in New York. Other firms nominated in the Healthcare category included Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Hogan Lovells US LLP; King & Spalding LLP; McDermott Will & Emery LLP; Ober Kaler Grimes & Shriver PC; and Proskauer Rose LLP.

The Chambers USA Awards for Excellence are based on research for the 2012 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business and reflect ...

Few decisions are as significant for a community hospital as the decision to enter into a strategic affiliation, asset sale, merger, joint venture, or other dispositive transaction. But while the significance of such a decision cannot be overstated, the challenges of implementation – particularly for organizations without relevant transaction experience – cannot be understated. The following is a list of some of the key steps you should take when preparing for a potential transaction:

1. Designate a Leader and Build a Team. Identify and empower a project manager to take the lead ...

Organizations considering a significant transaction have a lot to think about.  One of the most important is making certain that relationships with key constituents and stakeholders are appropriately maintained and managed.  Too frequently, community hospitals and community health systems underestimate the scope and importance of those relationships.

Most of us can rattle-off a short list of key constituents and stakeholders for community hospitals and community health systems.

Here's my standard list, together with a short description of why they are important:

• Board ...

Many legal obstacles have long stood in the way of telehealth. There are licensure laws, prescribing laws, practice of medicine requirements, credentialing rules, insurance coverage issues, and concerns about privacy, among others.  These hurdles have until recently relegated telehealth to the most geographically remote corners of health care where the only means of obtaining medical care is by phone or computer connection to a provider hundreds of miles away.  But now, with physician shortages and the ubiquity of the smart phone, telehealth is beginning to show up all over the ...

There is a proposal moving through Congress that has some interesting implications for telemedicine.  Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) have proposed an amendment to the Online Pharmacy Safety Act that would impose additional restrictions on when and under what circumstances practitioners can prescribe medication under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.  Although the Online Pharmacy Act is primarily intended to put an end to illegitimate pharmacies and the fraudulent sale of drugs online, as the American Telemedicine Association, HealthLeaders