What is a Management Services Organization
MSOs, or management services organizations, present an opportunity for for-profit organizations to manage medical, therapy, or other professional practices. An MSO is an entity which would contract with a professional corporation owned and operated by licensed professionals. The MSO could be owned by people that are not licensed professionals. The professional corporation will pay the MSO for non-licensed services provided.
An MSO typically provides basic practice support services to licensed professionals and professional corporations via a contractual relationship, commonly known as a Management Services Agreement. These services frequently include activities such as managing operation issues, finances, human resources and personnel, coding and billing, landlord agreements, regulatory compliance, and risk management.
There are numerous benefits to having an MSO coordinate the non-medical aspects of your medical practice.
For example, there has been a lot of confusion regarding COVID-19 OSHA compliance for healthcare workers, employment classification issues due to AB-5, privacy rules for telemedicine and electronic health records, and more. These are all red flags that could result in costly lawsuits. One of the primary benefits of an MSO is analyzing and managing such legal risks a professional medical practice may incur when running their practice.
Most medical professionals get into the practice of medicine to help cure the sick and the injured. Managing payroll, employee disputes, and patient grievances can often be distractions to prevent them from focusing on achieving this goal. MSOs help take the burden off the medical professionals and allow them to do what they do best — healing the sick.
Risk Management Services
Medical professionals incur a lot of risks when providing medical services to the public. Everything from failing to make the correct diagnosis on time, to issues regarding patient medical records can become the subject of lawsuits. Federal rules related to Medicaid and Medicare can also trigger anti-fraud and anti-kickback statutes leaving physicians charged with federal crimes. The job of an MSO when it comes to risk management is to identify all the things that could go wrong, avoid them to the extent possible, and then minimize the damages when something went wrong.
Even when everything is done properly, third-party insurance companies sometimes conduct audits to determine how their money was spent. Preparing for these audits, keeping exceptional records, and ensuring transparency and consistency in the billing and coding process, are what keep health care clinics safe from potential legal threats.
Talk to an L.A. Health Care MSO Attorney Today
Carbon Law Group provides MSO formation services to Los Angeles health providers. Call today to discuss your goals and we can help you make them a reality.
