Health Care Professional Licensing, Regulatory Compliance and Accreditation

If you are a physician, nurse or social worker, or you hold any health care professional license, or you operate a child placing agency, child care center, day care center, foster home, group home, child care home, or nursing home, or you operate any other professional caring facility, you must have a license. Summary suspensions, probation or loss of license can end a career or lead to the closure of a business. Attorneys in the Health Care Licensing, Regulatory Compliance and Accreditation Practice Group use their litigation background to protect and defend licensed health care professionals and businesses, and their unlicensed staff, to ensure that they can continue caring for patients and residents.

This practice group focuses on representing and counseling physicians, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, foster homes, mental health care facilities, hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers, including their unlicensed staff, facing a complaint, suspension or investigation by the State of Michigan or accrediting entity. We use our experience as litigators and knowledge of the health care system to effectively counsel, defend and advocate on behalf of licensed professionals and business entities. Our attorneys know the impact that probation, suspension and revocation have on the livelihood of individuals and businesses, and we work to ensure that our clients are able to continue in their chosen profession. We work with each client to navigate the administrative process, develop a defense, create corrective action plans and minimize the potential negative impact on the client’s business or professional career. We work with licensed professionals and businesses (and their unlicensed staff) in connection with a wide range of issues including the following:

  • Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) investigations
  • Formal Complaints and other disciplinary actions
  • Compliance Conferences, informal meetings and interviews with regulating authorities
  • Disciplinary action related to substance abuse and compliance with the Health Professional Recovery Program (HPRP) and consent orders
  • Self-reporting statutory and administrative rule violations and the violations of other licensed professionals
  • Child Protective Services (CPS) investigations against licensed professionals and unlicensed staff and their placement on the Michigan Central Registry for Child Abuse and Neglect
  • Reporting abuse and neglect of patients and residents and responding to complaints for failure to report
  • Obligations to warn third parties of patient threats
  • Confidentiality of medical and mental health records under state and federal law, including the Mental Health Code and HIPAA
  • Subpoenas to produce confidential information or appear in court or at depositions to give testimony
  • Recipient rights grievances, complaints and investigations
  • Surveys by the State of Michigan, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Joint Commission, Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP) and other accrediting and licensing bodies
  • Investigations by CMS, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) related to Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and patient complaints
  • Licensing applications, appeals and compliance