having your name on someone else's practice

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My name is on someone else's practice. It is a pain clinic where they do procedures via a surgeon, no oxys, roxy's etc maybe some vicodin max. The owner (who is not a doctor) is paying me about $1000 per month to have his clinics in my name, and he says it is perfectly legal. According to him, the doctor doesn't even have to practice, but i am in practice. It is not a medical directorship because I didn't want to work 16 hours a month, i just get my name on the clinic. Is there anything wrong with this? legal implications? How liable am i in this position?
Any input is much appreciated.
Thanks!

Originally Posted by docu

My name is on someone else's practice. It is a pain clinic where they do procedures via a surgeon, no oxys, roxy's etc maybe some vicodin max. The owner (who is not a doctor) is paying me about $1000 per month to have his clinics in my name, and he says it is perfectly legal. According to him, the doctor doesn't even have to practice, but i am in practice. It is not a medical directorship because I didn't want to work 16 hours a month, i just get my name on the clinic. Is there anything wrong with this? legal implications? How liable am i in this position?
Any input is much appreciated.
Thanks!

Ask a lawyer. You should've done that before you agreed to the deal, frankly.

Originally Posted by docu

My name is on someone else's practice!

What exactly does this mean??? Is your name on the door? Is billing being done through your name (and NPI)? Is your name on the ownership documents (ie, LLC paperwork)?

Originally Posted by michaelrack

What exactly does this mean??? Is your name on the door? Is billing being done through your name (and NPI)? Is your name on the ownership documents (ie, LLC paperwork)?

no billing or name on door. just on ownership papers, as a silent owner. I pretty much got scared and told the guy i dont want to do it, so in 3 months he's taking my name off and finding someone else.

Originally Posted by docu

no billing or name on door. just on ownership papers, as a silent owner. I pretty much got scared and told the guy i dont want to do it, so in 3 months he's taking my name off and finding someone else.

Are u an actual owner - own a certain % of the business? If not this sounds like fraud and you are putting your license in danger. It is good that you are getting out of the situation. You better hope that the "real" owner is paying all the required taxes and the IRS doesn't hit you with a huge tax bill (or worker's comp bill, etc)

Originally Posted by michaelrack

Are u an actual owner - own a certain % of the business? If not this sounds like fraud and you are putting your license in danger. It is good that you are getting out of the situation. You better hope that the "real" owner is paying all the required taxes and the IRS doesn't hit you with a huge tax bill (or worker's comp bill, etc)

I don't get anything but $1000 per month. i dont know what percentage. He wants to do my taxes free of charge in Dec. should i be wary?

Originally Posted by docu

I don't get anything but $1000 per month. i dont know what percentage. He wants to do my taxes free of charge in Dec. should i be wary?

Only if you want to potentially add tax fraud to your rap sheet.

Originally Posted by docu

I don't get anything but $1000 per month. i dont know what percentage. He wants to do my taxes free of charge in Dec. should i be wary?

Are you trolling, or are you so desperate for $ that you are willing to risk your medical license by getting into situations like this??

I thought i was going to b medical director. This guy changed it all on me without telling me and put me on as an owner. Im getting tired of all the shady people i meet. How do thry all know me and flock to me the way they do. Its pretty scary. Thank u all for ur adivse and helping me get out of trouble. Not trolling, why would i make it up?
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Originally Posted by docu

I thought i was going to b medical director. This guy changed it all on me without telling me and put me on as an owner. Im getting tired of all the shady people i meet. How do thry all know me and flock to me the way they do. Its pretty scary. Thank u all for ur adivse and helping me get out of trouble. Not trolling, why would i make it up?
Sent from my GT-N8013 using SDN Mobile

sounds like you need a good lawyer who can assist you in reporting this situation (starting with reporting it to the medical board)

Originally Posted by docu

My name is on someone else's practice. It is a pain clinic where they do procedures via a surgeon, no oxys, roxy's etc maybe some vicodin max. The owner (who is not a doctor) is paying me about $1000 per month to have his clinics in my name, and he says it is perfectly legal. According to him, the doctor doesn't even have to practice, but i am in practice. It is not a medical directorship because I didn't want to work 16 hours a month, i just get my name on the clinic. Is there anything wrong with this? legal implications? How liable am i in this position?
Any input is much appreciated.
Thanks!

Some states require a physician to be the owner of a pain clinic, so that may be why the clinic manager / owner he wants your name on the practice. When the clinic get raided you will pay tens of thousands to try to keep your license, the manger will plead ignorance and most likely get off with only a slap on the wrist. He will quickly find a new sucker physician and be back pumping out pills again in less than a few weeks. These pain clinic owners like the patients are not to be trusted, you might actually be the medical director or the prescribing physician and have not been told. Many states go after physicians, for violations of the corporate practice of medicine rules which usually means that a non physician can not employ a physician to practice medicine.

You say the clinic only prescribes vicodin, it is not safe to prescribe vicodin any more, now that the government is committed to shutting down pain clinics any way they can. In Iowa an anesthesiologist / pain physician practicing at a pain clinic affiliated with a large hospital system, was charged with manslaughter when one of his patients died of an overdose after he prescribed him four hydrocodone (vicodin?) a day. The government said he prescribed a dangerously high dose of four hydrocodone (vicodin?) a day. So now a 40 Morphine Equivalent Dose (MED) has been declared a dangerously high dose, by the government.

Originally Posted by ketamine

Some states require a physician to be the owner of a pain clinic, so that may be why the clinic manager / owner he wants your name on the practice. When the clinic get raided you will pay tens of thousands to try to keep your license, the manger will plead ignorance and most likely get off with only a slap on the wrist. He will quickly find a new sucker physician and be back pumping out pills again in less than a few weeks. These pain clinic owners like the patients are not to be trusted, you might actually be the medical director or the prescribing physician and have not been told. Many states go after physicians, for violations of the corporate practice of medicine rules which usually means that a non physician can not employ a physician to practice medicine.

You say the clinic only prescribes vicodin, it is not safe to prescribe vicodin any more, now that the government is committed to shutting down pain clinics any way they can. In Iowa an anesthesiologist / pain physician practicing at a pain clinic affiliated with a large hospital system, was charged with manslaughter when one of his patients died of an overdose after he prescribed him four hydrocodone (vicodin?) a day. The government said he prescribed a dangerously high dose of four hydrocodone (vicodin?) a day. So now a 40 Morphine Equivalent Dose (MED) has been declared a dangerously high dose, by the government.

wow. i told the owner i want my name off and he said he'd do that, but was very angry with me. i dont care. i don't want to lose my license.

i also work for an auto accident clinic where i write vicodin, bid #60 per month, max. for most patients who were in recent MVA's. is that okay? i thought it was a regular clinic and i realized it was auto clinic after i got in. u are scaring me! are auto accident clinics illegal?

Originally Posted by docu

i also work for an auto accident clinic where i write vicodin, bid #60 per month, max. for most patients who were in recent MVA's. is that okay? i thought it was a regular clinic and i realized it was auto clinic after i got in. u are scaring me! are auto accident clinics illegal?

I imagine it would be considered to be a pain clinic, but you would have to check with your state medical board to be sure

Originally Posted by docu

wow. i told the owner i want my name off and he said he'd do that, but was very angry with me. i dont care. i don't want to lose my license.

i also work for an auto accident clinic where i write vicodin, bid #60 per month, max. for most patients who were in recent MVA's. is that okay? i thought it was a regular clinic and i realized it was auto clinic after i got in. u are scaring me! are auto accident clinics illegal?

I have never worked at an auto accident clinic, but you are describing acute pain which is different than chronic pain. Most physicians would agree that two vicodins or four vicodins per day is a relatively low dose. It is a reasonable dose for a patient complaining of pain. Unfortunately, we are in the midst of a revaluation of the rules for the treatment of pain so the current rules are unclear.

A Morphine Equivalent Dose (MED) greater than 100 has been shown to be associated with patient deaths from overdose; recently it has been shown that a Morphine Equivalent Dose (MED) greater than 40 is associated with overdose.

The government can get you two basic ways, improper prescribing or when your patient overdoses. It does not seem to matter how little you prescribe because your pain patients don’t take the pills as prescribed. They take them with alcohol, with meds they get from other physicians and pills that they buy on the street. They will take the whole bottle at once with every other pill they can get their hands on along with alcohol. When your patient overdoses according to the government the only thing that matters is they died and your name was on their pill bottle so you are responsible.

The auto accident clinic patients claim to have been in a wreck and thus need pain meds but you do not have an established relationship with these patient and they may be going to every pain clinic in within a day’s drive for pills. What proof do you have that they were in an accident? Do you check their name in the prescription database before prescribing, do you do Urine drug screening before prescribing, and do you have an imaging study with pathology to account for their pain?

Originally Posted by docu

i also work for an auto accident clinic where i write vicodin, bid #60 per month, max. for most patients who were in recent MVA's. is that okay? i thought it was a regular clinic and i realized it was auto clinic after i got in. u are scaring me! are auto accident clinics illegal?

OMFG...

Why don't you just voluntarily surrender your license now? It's only a matter of time.

Originally Posted by ketamine

I have never worked at an auto accident clinic, but you are describing acute pain which is different than chronic pain. Most physicians would agree that two vicodins or four vicodins per day is a relatively low dose. It is a reasonable dose for a patient complaining of pain. Unfortunately, we are in the midst of a revaluation of the rules for the treatment of pain so the current rules are unclear.

A Morphine Equivalent Dose (MED) greater than 100 has been shown to be associated with patient deaths from overdose; recently it has been shown that a Morphine Equivalent Dose (MED) greater than 40 is associated with overdose.

The government can get you two basic ways, improper prescribing or when your patient overdoses. It does not seem to matter how little you prescribe because your pain patients don’t take the pills as prescribed. They take them with alcohol, with meds they get from other physicians and pills that they buy on the street. They will take the whole bottle at once with every other pill they can get their hands on along with alcohol. When your patient overdoses according to the government the only thing that matters is they died and your name was on their pill bottle so you are responsible.

The auto accident clinic patients claim to have been in a wreck and thus need pain meds but you do not have an established relationship with these patient and they may be going to every pain clinic in within a day’s drive for pills. What proof do you have that they were in an accident? Do you check their name in the prescription database before prescribing, do you do Urine drug screening before prescribing, and do you have an imaging study pathology with to account for their pain?

we do a MAPS on them. it for the most part checks on where and when they got any narcotics. sometimes it isn't that accurate but for the most part it is. if they already got some from another doctor, i dont give it. we make sure MRI's were done.

Originally Posted by Blue Dog

OMFG...

Why don't you just voluntarily surrender your license now? It's only a matter of time.

You joke about; voluntarily surrendering his license, but that is one of the tactics employed by the government to shut down pain clinics. I have heard reports of the authorities showing up at pain clinics and asking to speak to the physician. They then ask the physician if he wants to surrender his license and not get investigated, and most likely get thrown in jail. Nobody know for sure what the current rules, are and physicians are getting huge amounts of jail time for working at pain clinics, one physician worked at a pain clinic for 8 weeks got 6 years in jail.

Originally Posted by ketamine

You joke about...

Not joking.

Nobody goes to jail for "working at a pain clinic." You go to jail for breaking the law. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.