Groupon-type advertising is all the rage now but serious legal, ethical and contractual questions exist for medical and dental practices that need to be examined prior to entering into such arrangements.
We have previously addressed this evolving issue in several articles on this website by evaluating some of the implications such arrangements have for providers. One of our articles was just published in the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons’ (AAOMS) bimonthly publication, Practice Management Notes. We are pleased to bring it to you here.
Here is a snapshot of the article.
On March 20, 2012, the Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) for the Department of Health and Human Resources (“HHS”) issued an Advisory Opinion (“Opinion”) that gave the green light to a specific social media advertising arrangement (“Proposed Arrangement”). The OIG found that the Proposed Arrangement would not constitute grounds for the imposition of civil monetary penalties for influencing individuals eligible for benefits under federal or state healthcare programs. The OIG also found that while the Proposed Arrangement might generate improper payments if the intent was to induce the referrals of federal health care business, the OIG would not impose administrative sanctions under the anti-kickback statute.
You may download and read the entire article by clicking this link here. (You will need a PDF file reader to open the file, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
If you have questions concerning healthcare provider advertising or marketing arrangements, as well as any other legal matters concerning your medical practice, please contact us here.