Health Care

The health care industry faces legal complexity in an aggressive governmental enforcement environment.  Professionals face challenges from stricter and ever-changing regulations, consolidations in the industry, and hazardous liability issues.  Physicians and administrators require accessible and knowledgeable legal advice to stay on top of the wide variety of issues that confront them daily.

Health care reform at the federal and state levels will only exacerbate these issues as the industry continues its rapid change.  In any professional service, moral and ethical standards are important, but with health care, those responsibilities are taken to another level.  This dynamic, combined with patient quality of care expectations, define the industry's core principles.

Meeting the unique needs of a diverse industry with legal talent

Conner & Winters attorneys know the health care industry.  Our experience allows us to offer counseling to meet unique client goals beyond technical legal advice.  We are well practiced in representing hospitals, physician groups, post-acute and long-term care facilities, hospice organizations and individual professionals.  We counsel and defend these clients in corporate compliance and ethics matters, labor and employment issues, employment and other litigation, licensure and accreditation issues, third party and Medicare reimbursement, HIPAA compliance and patients’ rights concerns, business transactions, medical staff issues and operational needs.  Our approach to representation of health care clients includes drawing on the skills and experience of lawyers in many practice areas including: corporate governance/corporate services, securities and securities regulatory and compliance, tax-exempt organizations, banking and finance, employee benefits, real estate, bankruptcy and white collar criminal defense. 

Navigating operations through conflicting regulatory, ethical, and employment concerns

We know that legal issues in the health care context present treacherous territory to navigate.  Our attorneys have the experience and knowledge necessary to guide our clients on these issues, including:  

• Clinical research — our attorneys advise clients that provide clinical research trial compliance and serve as legal counsel for Institutional Review Boards overseeing research using human subjects
• Corporate compliance programs — in conjunction with firm attorneys in our corporate compliance and ethics and employee concern resolution and whistleblower defense practice areas, the Conner & Winters Health Care lawyers have established corporate compliance programs for hospitals and other providers, and we maintain a telephone hot-line service staffed with knowledgeable lawyers that can give fast, effective assistance
• EMTALA — our attorneys are well-versed in the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act and regularly assist clients with EMTALA compliance matters
• HIPAA — we know the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) policies and issues related to disclosure of patient information and compliance with state privacy laws, and regularly advise clients on these complicated matters
• Labor relations and employment law — our Health Care practice group attorneys advise clients on labor and employment laws including allegations of discrimination and other alleged adverse employment decisions. Our attorneys coordinate on false claims allegations and similar whistleblower allegations with attorneys in our whistleblower defense practice area
• Medical reimbursement compliance — we advise our clients on compliance with Stark laws, anti-kickback laws and other health care fraud and abuse statutes and represent them in governmental investigations and other regulatory matters
• Mental health — we assist mental health care providers with advice on legal matters such as involuntary detention, unique consent issues and patient restraints
• Oklahoma public trust hospitals — we regularly advise clients with issues concerning public trust laws, including public bidding, Oklahoma Open Records Act and Oklahoma Open Meetings Act compliance
• Patient care — we regularly advise clients on patient care issues related to end-of-life care, informed consent, patient rights, confidentiality, and issues unique to reproductive health and infertility
• Physician recruitment — on a regular basis, our Health Care attorneys advise medical care facilities and physicians when physicians begin or relocate practices, utilizing our working knowledge of contractual relations, administrative rules and regulations, and industry standards
• Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Audits and RHQDAPU audits — we assist clients in planning, implementing, and conducting appeals of RAC audits and RHQDAPU audits
• Ancillary services development — ancillary health care services such as mobile lithotripsy, DME, ambulatory surgical centers, dialysis centers, and sleep labs are growing fields and our lawyers are experienced in assisting clients with implementation of these services and related compliance matters

Providing transactional legal services attuned to the health care industry

Conner & Winters is equipped to provide our health care clients with the full gamut of transactional assistance and advice to facilitate effective business operations.  We advise health care providers in the formation of joint ventures, acquisitions, investments, affiliations and mergers.  Our attorneys are likewise equipped to assist with the formation of tax-exempt organizations and with tax compliance matters that sometimes arise after formation.  Our attorneys draft and review physician and vendor contracts and management plans. 

Because Conner & Winters is a full-service firm, we can also provide advice when our health care clients need capital.  We regularly advise clients, for instance, in venture capital, private placements, credit facilities and public offerings, tax-exempt bonds, and all related securities regulatory and compliance issues.

Our attorneys can also advise health care providers on all facets of corporate governance, including medical staff bylaws, credentialing, and peer review.

Providing sound advice in litigation

Conner & Winters lawyers successfully represent health care providers and organizations through trial, on appeal, and before regulatory and administrative bodies.  When faced with charges of negligence in hiring or credentialing medical staff, our attorneys can help. We also regularly represent clients charged with regulatory violations such as antitrust, physician referral, tax-exempt status, EMTALA, the False Claims Act and the Medicare and Medicaid anti-kickback laws.  Attorneys at Conner & Winters have successfully represented clients confronted with disciplinary proceedings before state licensing boards.  We also counsel health care clients when whistleblower claims are made and require quick and effective investigation and resolution.