Expert lawyer in the law of self-employed or hospital nurses

Need the help of a lawyer expert in business law and health law to develop your nursing activity or defend yourself in a conflict with a patient? Are you considering buying a liberal practice, purchasing a patient base, or creating a practice with colleagues and looking for a lawyer for nurses? Macfarlanes LLP offers you a local service, provided by more than 60 experienced professionals in various complementary fields.

Whether for assistance with administrative procedures, to advise you, or to represent you in the event of a dispute, we will provide solutions tailored to your needs. Thanks to our expertise, we assist our clients in cases of complaint before the Order of Nurses, disciplinary sanction, CPAM litigation, or criminal proceedings. We also intervene for compliance audits, negotiations, and contract drafting as well as managing contractual disputes.

Lawyer for nurses: creating or joining a CPTS

Initiated in 2016, CPTS (Territorial Professional Health Communities) aim to bring together health stakeholders in a territory to meet the specific needs of the population. They bring together healthcare professionals from primary and secondary care, whether self-employed or salaried, as well as healthcare facilities, prevention actors and medico-social services.

These communities promote:

• coordination between stakeholders;
• improving the working conditions of professionals;
• access to state-of-the-art equipment;
• a collaborative framework that strengthens the role of nurses while addressing local challenges.

However, the integration or creation of a CPTS is based on a structured and demanding process. It can be spontaneous or imposed. When this organization is spontaneous, professionals come together around a common health project that they submit to the Regional Health Agency (ARS). On the other hand, in the context of an imposed constitution, the ARS leads the implementation and brings together the necessary stakeholders. In both cases, an association is essential to receive funding, and a health project validated by the ARS is required.

These conditions, along with administrative procedures and legal steps, are essential to ensure the optimal functioning of the CPTS and its funding by the Health Insurance. For nurses, these steps can be particularly time-consuming and technical. Defining the health project, identifying the territory, and mobilizing professionals require a mastery of local issues and institutional expectations.

Furthermore, the drafting of legal documents, such as the association's bylaws and the letter of intent, requires rigorous precision. It is also important to meet deadlines, particularly for validation by the ARS and the organization of initial meetings. To simplify these processes, our firm of lawyers for nurses offers personalized support at every stage.

Que vous souhaitiez intégrer une CPTS existante ou en créer une nouvelle, nos experts en droit des sociétés et droit de la santé mettent tout en œuvre pour maximiser vos chances de succès. Notre rôle commence par une analyse approfondie de votre projet, en tenant compte des besoins locaux et des critères exigés par l’ARS.

This allows us to advise you and offer the best solutions. Then, we help you formalize your health project, structure the association, and produce the necessary documents to obtain funding. Additionally, we facilitate your interactions with the competent authorities, such as the CPAM and the ARS, to ensure rigorous monitoring of your file.

Lawyer for transfer of patient base or self-employed nurse practice

The transfer of a practice of a self-employed nurse is an important step in the career of healthcare professionals. It may occur in the event of retirement, relocation, or acquisition of a care practice. To do so, several elements must be taken into account, particularly the characteristics of the liberal practice.

This may include:

• the patient base;
• the firm's equipment;
• the right to lease, etc.

A clear distinction between these elements is essential to avoid subsequent disputes. For example, the presentation of the patient base must respect the patients' rights to freely choose their nurse, a fundamental principle of the profession. This is where you will need the legal assistance of your lawyer for nurses. It will allow you to ensure compliance with all necessary steps and the applicable regulations.

At Macfarlanes LLP, we assist our clients in the inventory of assets, drafting the transfer deed and administrative formalities. We handle registration with the tax authorities and transmission to the Departmental Council of the Order of Nurses. Furthermore, we ensure compliance with ethical obligations, including professional secrecy and the confidentiality of health information of patients concerned by the transfer.

We also place great emphasis on preventing potential disputes between transferors and transferees. For example, it is essential to precisely define the distribution of the patient base in the event of a partial transfer or joint practice. This may include specific clauses to prevent any clientele recovery by the transferor after the transfer.

We can also negotiate and draft non-reinstatement clauses to ensure solid legal protection for the transferee. Finally, thanks to our experience, we assist you in managing technical points. This includes the transfer of rights related to the professional lease, the handling of employment contracts if employees are present, and the integration of the transferee into a joint practice framework.

Lawyer for nurses: overpayment procedure and financial penalty

Self-employed nurses are often faced with inspections and procedures initiated by their CPAM. These checks, whether administrative, conventional, or medical, aim to verify the compliance of billed procedures and compliance with pricing rules. In the event of an irregularity, the CPAM may claim an overpayment, i.e., a refund of sums wrongly paid, or initiate a financial penalty procedure.
In this context, resorting to a health law professional or your lawyer for nurses is an essential means of defending yourself. Indeed, when a health professional is notified of a potential overpayment or penalty, they have fundamental rights, including the right to:

• submit observations;
• to defend oneself adversarially;
• be assisted throughout the procedure, etc.

These rights, although guaranteed, are often difficult to implement without appropriate legal assistance. Thus, we intervene from the earliest stages to prepare you for the inspection. This helps to guarantee a transparent process free from defects. In the event of prejudicial observations, we are able to analyze the grievances raised to identify the legal arguments and evidence necessary to protect your interests. We meticulously prepare the interview phase to avoid contentious proceedings.

However, in the event of litigation, we ensure rigorous defense, whether before the Friendly Appeals Commission, the social division of the judicial court, or the penalties commission. Our expertise in criminal law and Social Security law allows us to effectively contest notices of overpayment or financial penalties, using arguments tailored to each case.

We also ensure that all procedural steps are respected, thus guaranteeing fair treatment in accordance with legal principles. On the other hand, we support nurses in a prevention approach. For example, we carry out contract and billing audits to detect any irregularities or shortcomings in order to propose practical recommendations to secure their activity.

Lawyer for nurses: managing disputes

Nurses practicing in individual or group structures may also face disputes involving their professional liability, contractual or administrative. These disputes can arise in situations as diverse as disagreements between partners, disputes over replacement contracts, or disciplinary complaints initiated by colleagues or professional bodies.

Furthermore, conventional exclusion procedures or refusals of administrative authorizations, such as health approvals, are scenarios that can weaken the exercise of their profession. Thus, legal assistance is essential to ensure respect for the rights of professionals and anticipate potential consequences on their career. By contacting our firm, our lawyers for nurses will help you from the creation of your company or the signing of your contract.

This involves paying particular attention to the negotiation and drafting of all your professional or association contracts. Each clause will be tailored to the needs of the parties while respecting legal and ethical obligations. We thus design custom contracts, whether for collaboration agreements, replacement agreements, or group structure agreements.

When a dispute nevertheless arises, our role is to ensure an effective defense, whatever the situation. Whether it involves responding to a tax audit, contesting medical malpractice, a professional disciplinary sanction or pleading before criminal or civil courts, you can count on us. Whether you are an independent professional or practicing in a clinic, you can contact Macfarlanes LLP to discuss your situation.