November 2007

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Ask the Attorney: About semiretiring in Florida

How to semiretire in Florida
By Deborah Green, Esq.

I am a licensed New York chiropractor who will soon be retiring. I’ve been told I can move to Florida, open a chiropractic practice, and hire a chiropractor to work for me even though I am not licensed to practice in Florida. Is this true?

While this arrangement is currently legal, it won’t be after July 1, 2008.

Florida Statute 460.4167 is a new Florida law that describes who may or may not employ a chiropractor.

The law provides that only a sole proprietorship, group practice, partnership, or corporation completely owned by one or more Florida-licensed chiropractic physician(s) or by a Florida-licensed chiropractic physician and his or her spouse, parent, child, or sibling may employ a Florida-licensed chiropractic physician or engage a Florida-licensed chiropractic physician as an independent contractor to provide chiropractic services.

The only exceptions would apply to a practice wholly owned by:

• A medical doctor, osteopathic doctor, or podiatrist;
• A Florida-licensed or registered hospital;
• Clinical facilities affiliated with a chiropractic college accredited by the Council on Chiropractic Education where training is provided for chiropractic students;
• A public or private university or college;
• An entity exempt from federal taxation under section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code;
• Any community college or university clinic;
• Any entity owned or operated by the federal government or state government, including any agency, county, municipality, or other political subdivision thereof;
• An entity owned
  by a corporation whose stock is publicly traded; or
• A healthcare clinic licensed under part X of chapter 400, Florida statutes, that provides healthcare services by physicians licensed under Florida statutes, chapter 458, chapter 459, or chapter 460, the medical director of which is licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459; or a Florida-licensed insurer.

The state of Florida has implemented this new law because it wishes to prevent people who are not Florida-licensed chiropractic physicians from influencing, or otherwise interfering, with the exercise of a chiropractic physician’s independent professional judgment. You may therefore provide leasing or management services to a chiropractic practice, but any such arrangement must be pursuant to a written agreement stating the chiropractic physician who owns the practice expressly maintains complete care, custody, and control of the following:

• The selection of a course of treatment for a patient, the procedures or materials to be used as part of such course of treatment, and the manner in which such course of treatment is carried out by the licensee;
• The patient records;
• Policies and decisions relating to pricing, credit, refunds, warranties, and advertising; and
• Decisions relating to office personnel and hours of practice.

Deborah Green, Esq., practices law in New York and Florida. If you have any questions concerning legal healthcare issues, e-mail her at healthattorney@aol.com or call 954-923-0923.

DISCLAIMER: This column is provided for educational purposes only. The information presented is not as legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is hereby established.

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