Health Care Operations

We are day-to-day and strategic planning counsel for all types of providers inside the health care ecosystem—including outsourced general counsel for organizations that need a legal department without the overhead.

Running a health system, hospital, physician practice, surgery center or provider organization means making legal decisions constantly—strategic planning to execute, contracts to review, a new hire to paper, a compliance question that cannot wait. Many organizations are too large to ignore those issues and too lean to staff a full legal department. The result is that operational legal work gets deferred, handled informally or sent to different outside lawyers, with no one who actually sees the whole picture.

Phelps fills that gap. We act as outside general counsel to health systems, hospitals, physician practices, ambulatory care centers and other provider organizations—the steady, on-call legal partner who knows your long-term strategic goals and daily operations, answers the routine questions fast and brings in the firm's other professionals when needed. You get the responsiveness and business familiarity of in-house counsel without building a legal department.

Outsourced General Counsel

Our outsourced general counsel relationships are built around how you actually operate. We become the number you call first—for the contract that needs a quick read, the employee issue that just surfaced, the vendor pushing a one-sided agreement, or the compliance question that needs a clear answer before you act. Since we know your organization, you are not bringing a different lawyer up to speed every time.

That relationship typically covers:

Strategic planning to achieve key performance indicators
Day-to-day legal questions and triage, with a clear sense of when an issue is routine and when it needs a subject matter authority

Contract review, drafting and negotiation across vendors, payors, employees and partners

Ongoing regulatory and compliance support as questions arise

Employment and HR matters, from hiring and policies to terminations and disputes

Coordination of specialized work—transactions, litigation, real estate, technology—across the firm

Predictable, scalable arrangements sized to your organization

Why Providers Choose Phelps

We function like your legal department. Outside general counsel only works if the lawyer knows your business, your strategic vision and is extremely accessible. We build the relationship with you, so we know your operations and respond at the speed needed.

It’s one relationship with the whole firm behind it. When a routine question escalates, we bring in the right lawyer and stay engaged through investigation or litigation. Operational counsel should never slow a client down from making the call.

We structure these engagements to be predictable and to fit how your organization actually runs.

We talk to providers in plain language. We give you direct, usable answers, not memos that need translating.

Who We Help

Hospitals and health systems
Physician practices including multi- and single specialty groups

Dental practices and dental services organizations

Ambulatory surgery centers and outpatient providers
Pharmacies
Medical marijuana enterprises

Management services organizations and practice platforms

Behavioral health, home health and hospice providers

Diagnostic imaging centers and clinical laboratories

Medical spas and physician-owned ancillary businesses
Urgent, concierge and retail care clinics
Telehealth providers
Senior housing and long-term care operators

Experience

Day-to-Day Legal Support for Health Care Operations

Provide outside counsel services and serve as an extension of the internal leadership team for a 180-bed health system serving South Louisiana. Give day-to-day legal guidance on operational, regulatory, contractual and strategic matters. This work includes advising health system leadership on health care regulatory compliance, physician employment and professional services arrangements, medical staff matters, real estate, vendor and technology contracts, governance issues, reimbursement concerns, litigation and risk management initiatives. Serve as a central point of coordination, helping identify issues early, deliver practical solutions, and engage specialists on the Phelps team to assist when complex matters arise.

Advising a Large, Physician-Led Provider Organization

Act as outside general counsel to one the largest physician-owned neurospine group in the Southeast, a leading provider organization with more than 80 physicians and advanced practice providers. Serving as an extension of the practice’s executive leadership team, we provide day-to-day legal and strategic counsel on health care regulatory and operational matters, labor and employment, PSA contracting and negotiation, governance, operational issues, litigation and risk management and strategic growth initiatives.

Fractional GC Support for Multi-State Health Care Providers

Serve as fractional general counsel to a growth stage health care organization that focuses on whole family in-home care in multiple states. Working closely with executive leadership, we act as a trusted C-suite advisor on day-to-day operations, corporate strategy, governance, market expansion initiatives and enterprise risk management. Our services encompass the full range of legal issues facing modern health care companies, including health care regulatory compliance, labor and employment matters, vendor and operations contracting, intellectual property protection, litigation oversight and risk management. Coordinate legal strategy across the organization, manage legal team delegation when specific expertise is required, and provide practical, business-focused solutions that support growth, innovation and operational efficiency.

Guidance Across Operations, Compliance and Growth

Serve as outside general counsel to the largest physician-owned multi-specialty group in Louisiana, a leading provider organization serving the Houma and Morgan City communities with more than 100 physicians and advanced practice providers. Acting as an extension of the practice’s executive leadership team, provide day-to-day legal and strategic counsel on health care regulatory compliance, labor and employment, PSA contracting and negotiation, governance, operational issues, litigation and risk management and strategic growth initiatives.

Counsel to a Large Integrated Health Care System

Serve as outside counsel one of the largest integrated health care systems in west-central Indiana that employs between 1,001 to 5,000 staff and serves nearly 275,000 residents. Its combined network operates as the region's largest provider and including three hospital facilities and the region’s largest multi-specialty provider group, with more than 130 providers across 20 specialties. Provide strategic and day-to-day legal counsel on health care regulatory compliance, physician alignment, governance, contracting, risk management, reimbursement and operational matters across the health system and affiliated provider network. Our work encompasses the full range of legal issues facing a large integrated delivery system, including labor and employment matters, medical staff and credentialing issues, technology and vendor contracting, physician compensation, contracting and employment arrangements, market expansion initiatives, and regulatory compliance under federal and state health care laws, such as The Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute and EMTALA.