Trust the Leaders

Issue 5 / Fall 2003

• Affiliating with a Medical Group Practice A physician spends years learning the subtleties of diagnosing ailments of the body and how to recognize almost imperceptible indicia of particular diseases. But at some point in his or her professional career, the average physician in the United States will confront another, equally daunting diagnostic task: determining whether to join a physician group in private practice. The physician’s professional training has likely left this type of diagnosis completely unaddressed. A physician who joins a group practice, however, without examining how its structure and operations will affect his or her participation in the group, is at risk of entering a relationship that could prove, in the long term, both financially and emotionally unhealthy.
• HIPAA. It’s Not Just for Doctors Anymore HIPAA. That term is on the lips of virtually every healthcare provider and has been a constant area of concern over the last few years. Reviled by many providers and unknown to most individuals, HIPAA is poised to change the way the healthcare industry does business. HIPAA establishes, among other things, the first national standard for the protection of personal health information. While many providers have been protecting personal health information as a routine part of business, HIPAA is endeavoring to make the protections more noticeable to patients and more consistent nationally.
• What the Attorney-Client Privilege Really Means How can a client feel secure from the potential risk of having sensitive information fall into the wrong hands? In an extremely complex and competitive business climate saturated by consultants, technical advisors and outside experts, the sophisticated business owner might pause to consider one of the fundamental advantages of retaining legal counsel. By its very nature, the attorney-client relationship affords a distinct, invaluable right to have communications protected from compelled disclosure to any third party, including business associates and competitors, government agencies and even criminal justice authorities.
• Rebuilding Iraq: How Much Risk is Too Much? Military acronyms have filled the airwaves over the past few months as the United States won the war in Iraq and committed to rebuild that country’s deteriorated infrastructure and industrial complex. Although LSTK EPC may sound like just more military-speak, it’s actually a construction acronym for the standard design-build method for “turnkey” delivery of large scale construction projects like power plants and chemical manufacturing facilities. In lump sum or fixed price engineering, procurement and construction projects, the contractor generally provides design, procurement, construction and plant “start-up” services, allowing the project owner simply to “turn the key” and operate the completed facility. When successful, this type of construction contract offers significant rewards. It can also carry significant risks.