Ike Devji, JD

Lawyers and financial advisors understand that the demands of a medical practice are huge, both in terms of resources and time, but many of the issues your advisors encourage you to make time for and pester you to complete are actually at the core of how and why you work so hard.

Most physicians and others in healthcare are familiar with living wills and healthcare power of attorney provisions, but neglect these aspects of their own estate planning.

In the second part of the “self-exam” physicians and practice managers should perform to ensure optimal operational health, we’ll look at everything from data breach insurance to exit strategies

Given the heightened scrutiny of the medical industry on a variety of medical practice related issues from billing to HIPAA compliance, it should come as no surprise that the IRS is looking at medical practices and their accounting methods more carefully than ever before.

The current legal landscape faced by doctors and practice managers requires more careful attention than ever before. Increased compensation and compliance issues, HIPPA regulation, and greater DEA prescription scrutiny are just some of the issues on the minds of top practitioners. Surprisingly to many, the most common threat they face is closer than most realize: the internal danger of employee lawsuit risks.

The amount of fraud targeting doctors is increasing daily as they, like everyone else, are feeling the pinch of current economic conditions, decreasing compensation and stalled or negative investment momentum.

The days of paying someone to merely fill out a return and figure out what you owe with no creative input as to how legally minimize that obligation are long gone. It’s also important to know that practices that have been long standing and allowed or overlooked, if not actually codified in the tax code, may need to be changed.

“Why can’t I simply insure my way to safety?” is a common question from both clients and advisors. In the worst cases we actually see uninformed advisors telling their clients that the only asset protection they need is a good umbrella policy! This is flat out wrong for successful medical professionals.

Here are some additional issues to keep in mind when addressing the crucial issue of asset protection.

During my practice with a client base of thousands of doctors I have seen the best and the worst of asset protection planning available to the American public as well as the most common flaws evident in both self-directed planning and plans executed by “professionals” who do not practice primarily in this area.