About QMCG - Consultants

Karen D. Smith Consultant and Principal Partner, Bricker & Eckler LLP

Areas of Practice

General health care law emphasizing general corporate, federal and state regulatory issues, physician contracting, corporate compliance and patient care issues.

Representative Experience

• Several years experience in healthcare as a registered nurse including the management of a nursing department of a 300 plus bed community hospital. 
• Four years of experience in serving as administrator and general counsel for a primary care physician group practice. 
• Facilitating ongoing regulatory compliance with federal and state agencies, including the Ohio Department of Health, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
• Assists hospitals in drafting all forms of physician contracts, including recruitment services and employment contracts.
• Advises hospitals with respect to state and federal laws, including Stark law and the fraud and abuse laws.
• Partner in Health Care Department of the law firm of Bricker and Eckler which serves as counsel to health care entities throughout the country as well as many healthcare trade associations. The firm represents a wide variety of health care entities including hospitals and their medical staffs, the long term care industry, home health agencies, provider-sponsored health insurance programs, health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations, physician hospital organizations, as well as individual healthcare professionals and group practices.

Education

Good Samaritan School of Nursing, Zanesville, Ohio, 1974
B.S., summa cum laude, Ohio University, 1984
M.S., The Ohio State University, 1988
J.D., University of Cincinnati, 1991

Representative Sample of Recent Speeches, Presentations, Publications

Recent presentations include:

• Effective Hospital Response to Ohio’s New Concealed Weapon Legislation
• Medicare Provider Enrollment Process
• Ohio Board Of Nursing Investigations
• Medical Records
• Compliance Series on the Provider-Based Rule
• HIPAA Security Standards
• Stark II, Phase II Compliance Strategies

Contact Karen at: ksmith@bricker.com