Corporate Practice of Medicine

Laws of Medicine eBook

9.12.2022

Wilentz attorneys Michael F. Schaff, co-chair of the Corporate, Health and Cannabis Law Teams, and Jason J. Krisza co-authored a chapter entitled “Corporate Practice of Medicine” published in the Laws of Medicine.

In this chapter, they provide an overview of the corporate practice of medicine laws which varies significantly from state to state and take the form of case law, administrative decisions, statutes, and regulations.  

Key points from the chapter include

  • The corporate practice of medicine doctrine prohibits unlicensed individuals or entities from practicing medicine and places limits on physicians “partnering” with, or being employed by, such individuals or entities.
  • Currently, healthcare is going through a transition whereby smaller practices are consolidating into larger groups. This consolidation has been led by large medical systems and private equity investors and often implicates corporate practice of medicine prohibitions.
  • In states that have strong corporate practice of medicine doctrines, formation of management services organizations (MSOs) may enable physicians to “partner” with non-licensed entities, like private equity investors, while remaining in compliance with corporate practice of medicine restrictions.