Loading...
Answers
MenuWhat specialty compliance/regulatory legal services are available for a healthcare marketplace startup (e.g. RocketLawyer)?
Legal for:
a) corporate structure with physician partners
b) healthcare regulatory compliance
c) medical contracts and agreements documents
d) telemedicine ToS and Privacy
Answers


Hi,
I specialize in healthcare startups and have helped start and grow numerous healthcare organizations from IT to Clinical. It sounds like much of the work you are asking about can be done without an attorney or with less help from an attorney if you do much of the work up front. It has been my experience that healthcare attorneys which work in really large groups are very expensive. Of course expensive is a relative word.
One of my clients paid $750/hour for attorneys with a minimum of $20,000 per month. In that particular case, the company was a very large healthcare startup that was later sold to a major healthcare conglomerate. The cost was justified by the profit the company earned.
That being said, it also depends on where you are located. If you are a nationwide company you need an attorney who has a broad view of healthcare nationally. If you specifically work with Medicare, you need an attorney who knows about Medicare. The same goes for Medicaid except each Medicaid program and the amount Medicaid pays for services varies greatly from state to state. So, to use a line that all attorneys are taught, "it depends." I would need more information.
Meanwhile, I would suggest that you do a search on LinkedIn. My clients have used various attorney groups over the past few years. Some of my clients have used Mark Kaufman (New York).
I hope this helps.
All upvotes are welcome.
Best of luck,
Michael
Michael Von Irvin
Author, Consultant, Serial Entrepreneur


Hi,
I work in the security and privacy business in Europe and I can tell you a bit more about point d. You need to make sure you're bringing also an expert in compliance depending on your jurisdiction (e.g. HIPAA). You might need expert advice to know if you're doing enough to protect private information from patients. A lawyer might have a good knowledge of the regulations, however, a technical expert will also tell you if your measures are enough or if you're falling short and possibly liable.
If you're going to do business with Europe in any length, remember that we do have quite strict guidelines about privacy and is your responsibility to adequately protect patient's information.


I work with several start-ups in the "space" and have sold three Health-Tech clients to large US corporations. The above listed items are typically covered in the type of services I provide.


Types of Compliance: As you know there are multiple types of compliance in health care. For example these include HIPPA, FDA approval, CMS, JACHO, state insurance divisions, etc. Depending on what type of startup you are offering there will be different compliance requirements. As a result, different types of individuals may be needed. If you have a medical device, FDA and HIPPA are the big ones you need to think about. It sounds like you have a healthcare service you will be billing CPT codes for. A medical billing company would probably have most of the answers around compliance on that. I'm happy to speak more with you about your product, the specific areas of need and who the right people are to help in those areas from a compliance standpoint.
Thanks for your inquiry! It's intriguing to explore the legal aspects of launching a healthcare marketplace startup. For comprehensive legal support tailored to your specific needs, including corporate structure, regulatory compliance, contracts and agreements, as well as telemedicine terms of service and privacy policies, I suggest considering consultation with a reputable telemedicine app developer: https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/telemedicine-app-development-cost/. They can offer specialized expertise and guidance to ensure your startup navigates the complex regulatory landscape effectively while maintaining compliance and mitigating legal risks.
Related Questions
-
What legal precautions can I take to make sure nobody steals my startup idea?
I've discussed ideas with hundreds of startups, I've been involved in about a dozen startups, my business is at $1M+ revenue. The bad news is, there is no good way to protect ideas. The good news is, in the vast majority of cases you don't really need to. If you're talking to people about your idea, you could ask them to sign an NDA ("Non Disclosure Agreement"), but NDAs are notoriously hard to enforce, and a lot of experienced startup people wouldn't sign them. For example, if you asked me to sign an NDA before we discussed your Idea, I'd tell you "thanks, but no thanks". This is probably the right place though to give the FriendDA an honorable mention: http://friendda.org/. Generally, I'd like to encourage you to share your Ideas freely. Even though telling people an idea is not completely without risk, generally the rewards from open discussions greatly outweigh the risks. Most startups fail because they build something nobody wants. Talking to people early, especially people who are the intended users/customers for your idea can be a great way to protect yourself from that risk, which is considerably higher than the risk of someone taking off with your idea. Another general note, is that while ideas matter, I would generally advise you to get into startup for which you can generate a lot of value beyond the idea. One indicator for a good match between a founder and a startup is the answer to the question: "why is that founder uniquely positioned to execute the idea well". The best way to protect yourself from competition is to build a product that other people would have a hard time building, even if they had 'the idea'. These are usually startups which contain lots of hard challenges on the way from the idea to the business, and if you can convincingly explain why you can probably solve those challenges while others would have a hard time, you're on the right path. If you have any further questions, I'd be happy to set up a call. Good luck.
-
How can one file an EIN without an SSN/ITIN?
You should retain a lawyer, or another qualified individual, to act as the third party designee for the corporation (if you do not have a partner or co-owner who is a US citizen). The designee should prepare Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number) and Form 8821 (Tax Information Authorization) for the corporation’s president to sign and return.
-
How do I deal with a partner/investor that hasn't delivered on his end of things and now wants his money back?
This sounds as a deja vu to me. I have been in a similar situation back in 2000, we could only solve the issue thanks to a good mediator. However every situation is different and hence your route to a solution might be different. It also depends where you are in the world that defines how an email and/or verbal agreement might be a sufficient ground for legal actions. I am not a lawyer and can not judge that.
-
Is it unwise for an entrepreneur to sign a non-disclosure agreement?
Non-disclosure agreements are very common. Know that a non-disclosure agreement goes both ways as well. A contract agreement should also protects you from the other party disclosing any trade secrets or know-hows that they may learn from working with you.
-
Shall we register our company before testing the MVP?
I do not believe you should incorporate your company yet as there is a chance you will scrap the idea or iterate on the assumptions after analysis. I suggest you run your initial testing on a very minimal MVP to see if there is interest. I would go further in saying that you should not even allow people to pay only have them click on the payment option because at that point you know that it would be a conversion. The ONLY thing you are proving with an MVP is validation of an idea. Only make the mousetrap front end and see if you can drive users to where you want and stop. Even if you frustrate some people, it was worth it as you now know for sure people will buy or do what it is you wanted. Schedule a call with me to find out more. God knows I have done this enough times. Good luck Josh