Episode 63: How Wellness Law Can Help You Practice Safely and Compliantly
“Wellness, because it’s the Wild West, there are no black and white answers oftentimes when it comes to, ‘Can I do this? Or can’t I do this?” explains Barbara J. Zabawa, JD, MPH. Barbara is the founder and president of Wellness Law, a legal services company dedicated to improving wellness law compliance for health and wellness professionals and companies. She is also the founder of Pursesuitz, a mission based fashion company, and Lemon Spark, a movement and podcast celebrating the sparks that lead people to meaningful pursuits after experiencing life’s lemons. Today, Barbara joins host Lara to discuss how wellness law can help you to practice safely and compliantly.
Barbara started her company because she saw a gap in the market for providing legal services to those outside of the scope of traditional health law. Much of wellness law is less regulated as practitioners tend to not be licensed and governed in the same way as traditional healthcare providers. It’s possible to unintentionally break the law by providing professional health services to people in states where you are unlicensed. If you are marketing yourself as a coach, but you really emphasize your credentials as a doctor or a nurse, that could end up being seen as a violation of the law. It is important to really keep your wellness business separate from any professional license you hold in order to not run into compliance issues.
With the increase in telemedicine availability, more and more healthcare providers are offering services to people outside of their home state. This can cause legal complications if you are not licensed in the state where your clients reside. Since wellness professionals often do not require licensure to practice, they have the benefit of a bit more legal flexibility. Even so, you still have to be cautious of how you market your services.
About Barbara Zabawa, JD, MPH, Founder/President of Wellness Law, LLC:
Barbara is the founder and President of Wellness Law, LLC, a legal compliance company dedicated to improving wellness law compliance for the health and wellness professionals and companies. Learn more at www.wellnesslaw.com. She is also the founder of Pursesuitz, LLC, a mission-based fashion company featuring the Pocketwear Tank that promotes gender equality. Learn more at www.pursesuitz.com. Finally, she is founder of Lemonspark, a movement and podcast celebrating the sparks that lead people to meaningful pursuits after experiencing life’s lemons. See www.lemonspark.com.
Barbara is lead author of the book Rule the Rules on Workplace Wellness Programs, published by the American Bar Association. She is also author of “The Tug: Finding Purpose and Joy through Entrepreneurship,” published by Henschel Haus Publishing in Spring 2021. She is a frequent writer and speaker on health and wellness law topics, having presented for national organizations such as WELCOA, National Wellness Conference, International Foundation of Employee Benefits, and HERO.
Barbara J. Zabawa is an Associate Professor of Law for the University of Missouri Kansas City Law School where she teaches courses in health law and justice.
Barbara serves health and wellness professionals and organizations across the country as an advocate, a transactional lawyer and a compliance resource. Her commitment to improving health and wellness also shows through her community service. Barbara founded the Wellness Compliance Institute, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve wellness program and activity compliance. She has also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Wellness Institute.
In This Episode We're Talking About:
- Wellness law tips that can help you to practice safely and compliantly
- How it is possible to unintentionally break the law when you offer telemedicine services
- Why you shouldn’t emphasize your credentials as a doctor or a nurse if you market yourself as a coach
Quotes:
- “Even though there may be technical violations of the law, there’s not a lot of appetite at this moment from some of the licensing boards to do anything about it.” (21:30-21:40 | Barbara)
- “The more you emphasize that credential, the more likely it is that you will be held to that standard.” (24:55-25:02 | Barbara)
- “Wellness, because it’s the Wild West, there are no black and white answers oftentimes when it comes to, ‘Can I do this? Or can’t I do this?’, when it comes to legal questions.” (25:33-25:48 | Barbara)
- “You need to be licensed where your patients are. It’s not enough that you have a license in the state where you reside.” (28:38-28:48 | Barbara)
- “In order to really satisfy the market need for cross border practice, the laws are going to have to accommodate that. Otherwise, I think the licensed professions will suffer.” (33:14-33:30 | Barbara)
Links for this Episode:
Connect with Barbara Zawaba:
Website: www.wellnesslaw.com; www.pursesuitz.com; www.lemonspark.com
Twitter: @wellnessatty
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/barbarazabawa
Instagram: @wellnessattorney @pursesuitz @lemonsparkstories
Facebook: @centerforhealthandwellnesslaw @pursesuitz
Connect with Dr. Lara Salyer:
Website: https://drlarasalyer.com
Catalyst Kit: https://rightbrainrescue.com/p/catalyst_kit
Functional Medicine Micropractice Checklist: https://healthinnate.activehosted.com/f/47
Catalyst Studio Mentorship: https://drlarasalyer.com/catalyst
Instagram: @drlarasalyer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drlarasalyer
Linked-In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlarasalyer/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrLaraSalyer
TikTok: @Creativity.Doctor
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About The Catalyst Host, Dr. Lara Salyer:
I worked as a family physician for 15 years until burnout changed the trajectory of my career. I realized I wanted to start a holistic functional medicine practice in my rural hometown and made it happen. In addition to practicing functional medicine, I now mentor practitioners who are looking to change their paths in healthcare by using what I refer to as the “Catalyst Roadmap”. I share each step of this framework with listeners so that they may apply it to their careers, relationships, personal goals, and projects.
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