If you want to give your patients the best care, you probably want a team. Think about it.

Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and therapists all working together in one spot creates a powerhouse for healing. This is what people call a multidisciplinary practice or MDP, and while it sounds like a dream for patient outcomes, it can quickly turn into a nightmare if you do not pay attention to the legal rules. You have to know exactly how to set these up and how to keep them running without accidentally stepping over a line that could get your license pulled or your bank account drained by the government.

What Are Multidisciplinary Practices

An MDP is just a group of different healthcare pros working together as a single, cohesive unit to tackle complex health issues from every possible angle. You might have a nurse practitioner, a pharmacist, and a social worker all in one clinic sharing the same patient charts.

The main goal is holistic care, which means you look at the whole patient instead of just treating one small symptom in a vacuum. These teams work in big hospitals and small private offices to make things easier for the people they treat because when everyone on the medical staff actually talks to each other, the patient gets much better results and feels more supported.

Legal Rules for These Teams

Building a team is more than just hiring people you like or finding specialists who have good reviews on the internet. Each state has its own rulebook that says what is okay and what is not. You have to check what each person can do based on their specific license, which is often called their scope of practice.

• State licensure requirements for every staff member.
• Scope of practice limitations to prevent “crossing lanes.”
• Ownership rules that dictate who can legally run the business.

Another big rule is the Corporate Practice of Medicine, and in many states, this means only doctors can own a medical business while regular business people or corporations are totally banned from hiring doctors to practice medicine for them. You also have to watch out for fee splitting, which is a sneaky way of saying you cannot pay someone or give them a kickback just because they sent a patient your way. It is illegal and can lead to huge fines or even jail time in some cases, so all your money deals must be totally honest, transparent, and clear from the start.

Understanding Advanced Practice Providers

Many teams now use Advanced Practice Providers or APPs to fill the gaps in care. This group includes Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners who bring a high level of skill to the table. These pros are a big part of why medical teams are growing so fast because they help more patients get seen quickly without making them wait weeks for an appointment.

In places like epilepsy centers, they do everything from physical exams to teaching families about their health and managing complex seizure medications. APPs have different education levels, but most have graduate degrees and thousands of hours of training before they ever see a patient.

• CNS and CNP: Usually require an MSN degree and 500+ clinical hours.
• PA-C: Often requires an MSHS or MPAS with over 2,000 supervised hours.
• Reimbursement: Medicare typically pays about 85 percent of the physician fee schedule for their services.

Most states let them prescribe controlled substances if they have a DEA number, but you have to check the local laws because they change as soon as you cross a state line.

Structuring Your Medical Team

You have to pick the right legal setup for your team or you might find yourself in hot water with the tax man or the medical board. You might choose an LLC or a professional corporation, but this choice depends entirely on your state laws and how you plan to share the profits.

You also need a plan for how to run the office, including who makes the big choices and how you solve fights between staff members when they disagree on a treatment plan. Having these rules in writing helps the office run without a hitch and keeps the focus on the people who need help.

Contracts are also a big deal. You need a written playbook for every worker that covers how much they get paid, how much liability insurance they have, and exactly what happens if they decide to leave the practice. Good contracts stop arguments before they even start because they keep everyone on the same page and protect the business you worked so hard to build.

Staying Safe and Legal

The law changes all the time, and what was legal last year might be a huge violation today. You have to keep learning to stay safe by talking to experts, going to training sessions, and reading up on the latest industry news.

• Perform regular audits on your billing and records.
• Verify licenses and certifications for all staff annually.
• Invest in ongoing education to keep the team sharp.

You should also check your own work through an audit, which is basically a health checkup for your business. Look at your bills and licenses once in a while to make sure everything is perfect and that no one is accidentally breaking a rule they didn’t know existed. If you find a mistake early, you can fix it before it becomes a disaster that shuts down your entire operation.

Dike Law Group can help you build your dream team while staying on the right side of the law. If you want a healthcare lawyer who knows the rules for multidisciplinary practice laws in healthcare inside and out, give us a call today. We can handle the legal side so you can take care of your patients. Call us at (972) 290-1031 to get started.