If someone offered you a business plan for $20,000 that could make you $100,000 in the future, but it’s illegal, would you take it?

That’s exactly the situation I came across recently in a webinar, and, believe it or not, many people chose to do it.  This continues to be shocking to me because, in my opinion, illegal actions are never worth the risk. You could lose your business, your license, and even your freedom -- aside from the fact that choosing to break the law is highly immoral and completely unethical.

The truth is that you can be successful without breaking the law. We've done it. Lots of my clients have done it, and so can you. 

Why Risk Everything?

Since I attended the aforementioned webinar, I've been sitting on this one for a while because I didn't want to react emotionally, but I think now’s the time for me to address this. In essence, this person and others (who I will not name) are saying that it was...

You may be wondering, "Do I need cyber liability insurance? What does (and doesn’t) it cover? What are the two types? What cyber liability insurance is right for me?"

Cyber liability insurance is something I do recommend that everybody at least asks their insurance agent about. Before we go any further, understand that I'm not an insurance professional, but I do think that you should continue reading because I still am able to provide valuable insight on this important topic. Cyber liability insurance is one of four policies that I advise companies to get, the others being general malpractice, telemedicine, and general liability insurance. 

What is Cyber Liability Insurance?

I’ve mentioned that I think cyber liability insurance is critical, but what is it really? Cyber liability insurance protects small businesses from the high costs of a data breach or a malicious software attack. What it covers in the event of a breach is it mostly notifies the people whose...

Have you heard? In a bit of a stunning move, Alabama has repealed its telemedicine license program in 2022. This sets an extremely negative precedent for the rest of the country. 

I have been providing you with important updates on telemedicine laws around the country, and up until this point, I've been espousing the belief that most states will gradually lower barriers for out-of-state practices practicing in their state. It turns out that we may be moving in the opposite direction, which is definitely not a good sign. 

What was Alabama’s Program like Before the Repeal?

Despite Alabama’s reputation as being a bit behind on some things, for a long time they were actually ahead of the curve regarding telemedicine licenses. They’ve actually had a special purpose telemedicine license on the books since 1997. This was way before most states even considered something like this, and many states still don’t even have a program like this. For the record,...

What is a privacy policy? Why do you need one on your website? What should even be in it? 

These are some of the questions I get all the time from my clients, and a proper understanding of privacy policies can be very valuable. Through this blog, I’ll cover the answers to these three questions, and hopefully, you can get a better understanding of how this policy operates. Let’s get right to it.

What is a Privacy Policy?

A privacy policy is a legal document included on a website that informs users what is being done with their information. You might be thinking, “We don’t collect anyone’s information, we don’t even ask for e-mail addresses.” If that’s the case, first, you might want to reconsider whether your practices are up to date with how businesses are run in the 21st century, and second, the truth is that you actually are, without even knowing it. Your website naturally collects users’ IP addresses, which country...

Can you delete a bad Google review or a bad review on Facebook or even on your website? 

Sorry, but you can't. 

But there are a number of ways you can manage your reviews to turn the negative into a positive!

This week I received this question from one of my clients who received a negative review. No matter how good a doctor you are, everyone gets bad reviews sometimes. You can't please everybody all the time, and sometimes these reviewers are just crazy. Since you can’t delete negative reviews, you might be wondering if you should respond to them instead, because, of course, you don't want people seeing these negative reviews and counting out your whole business just based on one random person with a grudge. Naturally, you want potential customers to focus on your more positive reviews. Dealing with reviews of all kinds can be complicated, so we’ve used our experience to bring you several strategies that can make any review into an opportunity to...

Finally! Finally, we have some additional clarity surrounding the Good Faith Estimate rule and how it can be better implemented by providers. 

My members have been peppering me with many of the questions below for months now. And I am glad HHS published these answers for providers that have been confused.

Before you skip down, a few (paraphrased) reminders of definitions:

Convening Provider: the provider or facility at which the patient is being seen (most likely you/your office).

Co-providers: third-party providers that are likely to be involved in the delivery of care to the patient.  

These FAQs have been prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address the provision of GFEs for uninsured (or self-pay) individuals, as described in Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) section 2799B-6 and implementing regulations at 45 CFR 149.610.

Q1: Must a GFE include a diagnosis code, even if the provider or...

How does the NCAA basketball tournament relate to you in your practice, in your business, and in your life?  I'm not an expert ball spinner (see video!); however, I did play basketball in college at a small Division 3 school, so I lived and breathed March Madness. Going back to my high school days, I would carry an old radio in my favorite Duke Blue Devils duffel bag, and I’d wire headphones up through a sweatshirt, which in March in Florida is kind of out of place. I remember just sweating through the day, carrying my duffel bag, listening to the games that started at noon EST because I was that much into March Madness. But the real education for me came in college, when we finally played in the NCAA Tournament my senior year in Division 3. 

But today, I am retelling that story not only because we are in March, but also because there are some valuable lessons that coincide with it.

Don’t Compare Yourself to Others

I often get those old basketball pangs to...

A new law, now called the No Surprises Act, was passed in December of 2020 to take effect on January 1, 2022. Good Faith Estimates (GFEs) are a new requirement as of 2022 for all physician offices to offer their patients. We are going to look into these new requirements (how you can comply, what you need to do, and when you need to give this to your patients) and make it easy to understand so that you can comply with the law, which will eliminate patient complaints and lawsuits.

Why focus on the Good Faith Estimate?

The most important provision in this new law that we need to take into account is the Good Faith Estimate portion of the Act. The reason for that is twofold. First, most functional medicine providers are in physician offices in this context, so you do not have a team and you have to be the one who complies. Second, the No Surprises Act specifically excludes physician offices from its requirements. So you don't have to worry about it if you are a physician's...

Did you know that the state could shut down your business if you fail to file one form each year? The good news is that the form is very simple. It takes you less than 10 minutes, but if you forget to do it, the state will dissolve or terminate your company, and it will no longer exist. And this action will throw you into a state of sole proprietorship, which does not protect you from any liability if anyone were to sue you through the acts of your business. 

So what is the form? How can you file it? What do you need to put in it? How can you remember to file it?

What is the form?

I had a company called the LCR LLC, a shell company that I eventually let dissolve.  In this company, as I was figuring out my next steps to start Functional Lawyer, I could track expenses when I was in sales and on a commission basis.

The last event for this company that took place with the state of Florida on the state of Florida's Division of Corporations website was “Administrative...

Does my website need to be American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant?  What does ADA compliance mean? How can you achieve it and avoid potential litigation that will bring frustration and additional costs? These are a few questions that come up when complying with the ADA. The ADA was first signed in 1990.  With the rise of the global Internet, it applies to websites since websites are now a place of public accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Private businesses, as well as the government, must provide this for their website visitors. 

What is ADA Compliance?

The American Disabilities Act is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability, but for a website to be compliant, it must be accessible to people who browse the web with assistive devices. To be compliant not only do people who are blind using text readers need access, but also it could be a color or contrast issue. If a website is not accessible to people with...