Article By: CARR Leases and lease renewals are not typically conducted on a level playing field. After all, the landlord is in the real estate business and most doctors are not. By planning ahead and having professional representation, it is possible to negotiate a lower lease rate and receive a substantial tenant improvement allowance and free rent. HOW DOES THE LEASE RENEWAL PROCESS WORK? An important clause found in a standard lease is the renewal option. This allows you to extend your lease for a predetermined amount of time (often three, five or ten years) by giving your landlord advance ..read more

Article By: CARR Healthcare Real Estate by CARR  Are you one of the rare healthcare providers or administrators who understands how much is at stake in commercial real estate negotiations? If so, then you probably know that commercial real estate is the highest negotiable expense for your healthcare practice. Consequently, most healthcare providers fall into the statistic that tells us that 80% of healthcare practices still take a ‘do-it-yourself’ approach to these crucial negotiations and site selection process.  In this article, we will break down several reasons why doing commerci ..read more

Between Yelp, Google, Facebook, and various online forums dedicated to providing customer reviews to help consumers make educated choices, medical professionals and clinics are open to very public criticism. In some cases, the information gained can be valuable for a healthcare business. Patients who complain about treatment from front desk staff or their ability to find parking lets the business know how they can improve in the future. But when an unhappy patient says that the medical care they received was negligent, inappropriate, or unnecessary, it can have a lasting impact. Readers of tho ..read more

To a nurse who simply needs to handle a personal emergency or leave her current position for a new job, severing a relationship with a patient may seem like a small part of the process. To a patient who is left suddenly without care, however, the situation can be life-threatening. Many who suffer harm as a result will often respond by bringing a complaint to the Florida State Nursing Board or filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. Though it is not illegal to stop providing medical care to a patient for any reason, how that process is done is an important detail. If done improperly, a nurse coul ..read more

California prohibits the corporate practice of medicine (CPOM), a broad legal doctrine prohibiting non-licensed persons, including individuals and business entities, from practicing medicine. The CPOM doctrine arises from the idea that those with similar values and desire to uphold similar ethical principles should control the business of medicine. In other words, the purpose of the doctrine is to prevent non-licensed persons from influencing medical treatment decisions that could cause a physician to divide his or her loyalty between generating profits and delivering quality care. The prohibi ..read more

In the state of Florida, only those healthcare professionals who have completed training and certification in IV therapy may provide IV hydration therapy services regardless of the setting. For in-home care providers as well as those working in nursing homes, hospitals, and other medical settings that provide emergency or ongoing care for chronic illness, achieving and maintaining certification in IV hydration therapy can open doors for employment. Options in IV Hydration Therapy Courses In the state of Florida, a 30-hour training course that provides both didactic training and skills training ..read more

Every two years, a Certified Nurse Assistant, or CNA, renews their license in order to maintain compliance with state law in Florida. As long as they have provided CNA-related services for monetary compensation within the last 24 months, they are eligible to renew their license online and remain in the CNA registry. Is it time for your certified nursing assistant license renewal? Florida CNA License Renewal It is easy to complete the CNA license renewal process entirely online in the state of Florida as long as you have a credit card or debit card to pay the fees associated with renewal. To co ..read more

Fiduciary responsibility should be a primary concern for healthcare businesses that work directly with patients. This good faith directive, however, is not always clear cut when it comes to an actionable response to patient needs or handling of their care. Health Care Fiduciary Responsibilities Healthcare fiduciary responsibility touches numerous areas of patient care. As a general rule, it simply means that the choices of a healthcare provider or business must prioritize the best interest and care of the patient as any reasonable person might do in the same situation. Continuity of Care One o ..read more

A Good Samaritan is someone who stops to help a stranger in crisis simply because that person is in need. In the past, when a healthcare professionals attempted to provide medical assistance to someone in a crisis, they put themselves at risk of litigation. Should the person they assisted decide that they don’t like the outcome of that help or they didn’t want it, they had the option to sue for damages. With the passing of the Good Samaritan Act, medical professionals are now protected from litigious strangers and can feel free to assist when needed. What Is the Good Samaritan Act? The Good Sa ..read more

Though many states across the country have chosen to decriminalize marijuana or make it legal for recreational use, the federal government still classifies it as a Schedule I substance with a high potential for abuse and without any accepted medical use. Florida has chosen to step outside of the federal mandate by allowing for medical marijuana use across the state, but it has made no legal changes to decriminalize the drug in any way. This means that healthcare professionals across the state need to be careful about the current rules and regulations around obtaining a medical marijuana card a ..read more