Washington voters approved the Washington Death with Dignity Act in November 2008, which went into effect on March 5, 2009, and allows Washington residents who are terminally ill to request medication to end their life. The most recently available Death…
Read MoreHealthcare workers in Washington are required by order to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 18, 2021. Together with the Washington State Medical Association, attorneys at Montgomery Purdue are assisting physicians and practices across Washington implement the new mandate…
Read MoreOn December 2, 2020, CMS issued the long-awaited Final Sprint Rules, implementing significant revisions to the Stark physician self-referral regulations (42 CFR Part 411). Although many of the revisions are focused on facilitating value-based care arrangements and are generally positive…
Read MoreOn Wednesday, September 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor published new revisions to its Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) regulations following a recent federal court decision that invalidated several regulatory provisions interpreting the FFCRA. In connection with the…
Read MoreSome health care providers, including Swedish Hospital, are presenting patients with Advance Directives, also known as Health Care Directives or Living Wills, for their consideration and signature. A Health Care Directive (referred to herein as a “Directive”) is a document…
Read MoreEffective July 23, 2017, a new law (Substitute Senate Bill 5322) resolves many long-running conflicts between licensed dentists and dental support organizations, which are typically not owned by licensed dentists. The bill brings clarity to a number of issues, though…
Read MoreIn Emerick v. Cardiac Study Center, Inc., P.S., the Washington court of appeals held a physician noncompete does not automatically violate public policy, and will be upheld when reasonable. The case involved a cardiology practice with four office locations in…
Read MoreA recent article in The Washington Post highlighted that Yelp is adding government information on hospitals, nursing homes and dialysis clinics to its popular review site. Patients can now look up an emergency room’s average wait time, fines paid by…
Read MoreMost physicians probably recognize that a hospital must report certain professional review actions adversely affecting a physician’s clinical privileges to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), which can have serious career consequences for a physician. Physicians may not, however, realize…
Read MoreIn Fergen v. Sestero, Washington’s Supreme Court recently handed an important victory to physicians defending medical malpractice actions. The ruling involved the exercise of judgment instruction, which reminds juries that if a physician exercises the reasonable care and skill generally…
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