Protecting Healthcare Providers with Sound Legal Counsel Since 1987

Dallas & North Texas Healthcare Providers We Serve: 

• Physicians (M.D.s and D.O.s) establishing new practices, seeking regulatory guidance, or acquiring/selling practices across specialties including internal medicine, psychiatry, anesthesiology, and pain management
• Medical spas and aesthetic practices owned by nurses, physicians, dentists, and other healthcare professionals seeking MSO (Management Service Organization) structures
• Urgent care centers and primary care clinics requiring compliance guidance and business structuring
• Telemedicine and telehealth companies needing regulatory compliance assistance for Texas operations
• Diagnostic laboratories and physician-owned labs seeking EKRA (Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act) and Stark Law compliance
• Mental health and behavioral health providers including psychiatrists, therapists, and counselors setting up private practices
• Dentists and orthodontists establishing practices or adding medical spa services
• Pharmacists and pharmacy owners, including those establishing infusion centers and specialty pharmacies
• Home health agencies and rehabilitation facilities in acquisition or restructuring phases
• IV hydration and wellness clinics navigating corporate practice of medicine regulations
• Testosterone replacement therapy and hormone replacement clinics requiring compliant business structures
• DME suppliers facing Medicare scrutiny or recoupment claims
• Medical staffing companies requiring contract drafting and compliance support
• Medical professionals facing Texas Medical Board investigations or licensing issues
• Existing practices requiring regulatory guidance, contract reviews, partnership agreements, or revised employment agreements
• Healthcare businesses undergoing restructuring, mergers, acquisitions, or dissolutions/partnership disputes

Our Dallas Healthcare Legal Services

Medical Contracts and Physician Employment Agreements

Nationally recognized in both health and business law, our law firm helps practitioners, practices, medical groups, and other healthcare professionals throughout Dallas and North Texas review, negotiate, draft, and restructure medical contracts of all types, including:

• Medical director agreements
• Management services agreements
• Physician employment agreements
• Independent contractor agreements
• Patient intake documents, waivers, and consent forms
• Relocation agreements
• Marketing agreements
• Call coverage agreements
• Billing agreements

Are you getting a fair deal? Our healthcare attorneys routinely review and negotiate physician employment agreements, analyzing compensation, duties and responsibilities, non-compete provisions, tail coverage protection, and termination provisions.

Red flags we look for when reviewing employment contracts:

• Provisions allowing the employer to act in their "sole discretion"
• Responsibilities that include "other duties as assigned" without limitations
• Non-compete provisions that violate new Texas laws, including limits on geographic restrictions and buyback caps 
• Recruitment agreement traps
• Vague termination provisions
• Bonus formulas based on wRVUs without access to books and records

Just as you would never advise a patient to treat themselves without medical advice, you should not enter into a legal agreement without the counsel of an experienced attorney.

Are physician non-competes enforceable in Texas? Yes, but only if properly structured under Texas non-compete laws. Some requirements unique to Texas include:

• Maximum five-mile radius from primary practice location
• Maximum one-year duration (no exceptions)
• Buyout cap of one year's salary
• Access to patient lists and medical records
• Automatic void if terminated without "good cause"

Physicians should consult an experienced healthcare attorney before signing any employment agreement to ensure compliance with Texas non-compete requirements, including strict new standards that went into effect September 1, 2025.

Medical Practice Setups 

Hendershot Cowart P.C. has served healthcare providers throughout Dallas and North Texas since 1987. 

Practice types we structure:

• Solo and group physician practices (PLLC formation)
• Urgent care and ambulatory surgery centers
• Concierge and direct primary care practices
• Dental practices and DSOs 
• Med spa and aesthetic medicine practices with MSO
• IV hydration and wellness clinics
• Ketamine, chronic pain, and mental health treatment centers
• Weight loss and hormone replacement clinics
• Telemedicine practices

Our medical practice setup services include:

• Entity selection and formation (PLLC, PC, MSO)
• Employment and independent contractor agreements
• Partnership and buy-sell agreements
• Medical director agreements
• Collaborative practice agreements
• Management services agreements and MSOs
• Billing agreements
• Medical space and equipment lease agreements
• Regulatory and licensing compliance, including Texas’s prohibition against the Corporate Practice of Medicine
• Seeking 501(c)(3) status with the IRS (for nonprofit clinics)
• Medicare provider enrollment and change of ownership (CHOW) process
• Joint venture agreements
• Patient intake documents, waivers, and consent forms
• And more

Who can own a med spa in Texas? Texas’s Corporate Practice of Medicine (CPOM) doctrine prohibits non-physicians from owning medical practices. Getting this wrong can trigger TMB disciplinary actions and potential criminal investigations. Our healthcare attorneys know how to establish med spas and clinics for both licensed and non-licensed professionals in compliance with Texas regulations.

Our med spa and IV hydration clinic formation services include MSO structure, organizational chart, all agreements, HIPAA compliance, and regulatory guidance.

Medicare Audit Defense & Healthcare Fraud Investigation Response

We defend healthcare providers throughout North Texas against Medicare and Medicaid audits, OIG investigations, Civil Investigative Demands, and recoupment or repayment demands.

Why immediate response matters: Auditors and investigators start with small samples and extrapolate to entire populations. A $50,000 sample error can become a $500,000 repayment demand. Early intervention limits exposure and prevents civil matters from escalating to criminal investigations.

Healthcare audit & investigation types we defend:

• Medicare RAC (Recovery Audit Contractor) audits
• Medicare UPIC (Unified Program Integrity Contractor) investigations (formerly ZPIC)
• MAC (Medicare Administrative Contractor) prepayment/post-payment reviews
• Medicare exclusion proceedings and billing privileges revocation appeals
• Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) audits
• MCO reviews (Superior HealthPlan, Molina, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan)
• Texas Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigations
• Private payor audits and Special Investigation Unit (SIU) investigations
• HHS-OIG (Office of Inspector General) investigations and Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs)
• EKRA violation investigations (laboratories)

Dallas and North Texas providers: Medicare contractors Novitas and Qlarant are increasingly aggressive in audit and investigation activities, particularly for high-volume billing practices throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex including Dallas, Richardson, Plano, and surrounding communities.

If you've received a request for medical records, recoupment demand, or a letter from the Office of Inspector General, contact us immediately. Our healthcare attorneys can help you open lines of communication, present documentation properly while limiting your exposure, challenge findings, and demonstrate medical necessity where necessary.

Our goal is to resolve matters civilly through negotiation, repayment, and corrective action plans – avoiding criminal prosecution, sanctions against your license, and Medicare exclusion.

Healthcare M&A and Transactions

We represent physicians and healthcare businesses in practice acquisitions, joint ventures, buy-ins and buyouts, and other healthcare transactions, including:

• Practice acquisitions and sales
• Partner buy-ins and buyouts
• Letters of intent
• Asset purchases
• Stock purchase agreements
• ASC and surgical facility transactions
• Private equity (PE) investments in physician practices
• Corporate restructuring to comply with CPOM doctrine, EKRA, Anti-kickback Statute, Stark Law, etc.

The Dallas-Fort Worth market is seeing significant PE investment in dermatology, ophthalmology, GI, orthopedics, and dental practices. Major health systems (Baylor Scott & White, Texas Health, Medical City) continue acquiring physician practices and ASCs throughout North Texas. Our attorneys can guide you through these transactions, ensuring your interests are protected and exit strategies remain open and viable.

General Counsel Services & Regulatory Compliance

Hendershot Cowart’s healthcare attorneys routinely serve as outside general counsel for Dallas healthcare practices, providing ongoing legal guidance on regulatory compliance, contracts, employment matters, and risk mitigation without the cost of an in-house legal department.

Our general counsel services include

• CPOM, Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, and HIPAA compliance
• Medicare/Medicaid billing compliance reviews
• Telemedicine regulation compliance and Texas Medical Board rule interpretation
• Employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, and medical director agreements
• Partnership and buy-sell agreements
• Patient consent forms and HIPAA documentation
• Vendor contracts and office leases
• Employee handbooks, policies, and non-compete agreements (SB 1318 compliance)
• Termination procedures and wage/hour compliance
• Investigation response (TMB, Medicare audits, HIPAA breaches)
• Litigation prevention and early dispute resolution

We provide proactive legal counsel that helps prevent costly investigations and litigation while supporting practice growth.

Texas Medical Board Defense & Professional License Protection

We defend physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other licensed healthcare professionals in licensing board investigations and administrative actions by these licensing bodies:

• Texas Medical Board
• Texas State Board of Dental Examiners
• Texas Board of Nursing
• Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC)
• Texas Physician Assistant (PA) Board
• The Executive Council of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners (ECPTOTE) 
• Hospital peer review (Medical City, Baylor, Methodist, Texas Health)

Professional licensing matters we handle:

• Patient complaints
• Peer review proceedings
• License application assistance
• Reporting arrests or criminal offenses
• HIPAA violation allegations
• Representation before ISC panels or SOAH trials

Why experienced counsel matters: The TMB takes several measures when investigating a complaint and deciding whether to revoke an individual's license or impose sanctions. Early intervention and thorough, fact-based responses to requests for information have a high success rate – per the TMB, up to 40 percent of all patient complaints are dismissed after an initial response. 

Why Choose Hendershot Cowart P.C. for Dallas Healthcare Law?

Healthcare + Business Law Expertise

Most healthcare attorneys come from one of two backgrounds – business lawyers who dabble in healthcare, or regulatory specialists who don't understand transactions and litigation.

We combine both:

• 35+ years of Texas business law experience – formations, contracts, transactions, commercial disputes
• Deep healthcare regulatory knowledge – Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, EKRA, CPOM, Medicare regulations, TMB requirements
• Proven litigation experience – Texas state courts (including Dallas County, Collin County, and Denton County), federal court, and administrative proceedings

Serving Dallas and North Texas

Headquartered in Houston, we regularly serve healthcare clients throughout the Dallas metroplex and North Texas. Since 2021, we've represented more than 175 Dallas-area healthcare providers.

We serve healthcare providers in:

Dallas County: Dallas, Richardson, Garland, Irving, Mesquite, Carrollton, Plano, Frisco, University Park, Highland Park, Addison

Collin County: Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Allen, Wylie, Prosper, Celina, Anna

Denton County: Denton, Lewisville, Flower Mound, The Colony, Little Elm, Highland Village

Rockwall County: Rockwall, Rowlett, Heath, Royse City

Ellis County: Waxahachie, Midlothian, Red Oak, Ennis

Grayson County: Sherman, Denison, Whitesboro

Your Attorneys. Your Team. Your Law Firm for Life.™

Whether you're reviewing your first employment contract, opening a med spa in the Dallas area, defending a Medicare audit, or navigating a Texas Medical Board investigation, we provide the strategic healthcare legal guidance you need.

Let us shoulder the legal burden so you can get back to what you do best – caring for your patients.

Call (713) 783-3110 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have an office in Dallas?

We are located in Houston, but we regularly serve healthcare clients throughout the Dallas metroplex and North Texas. Most healthcare legal matters – including contract reviews, practice formations, regulatory compliance, and audit responses – can be handled effectively through phone and video consultations. 

We routinely travel to Dallas for court appearances, mediations, closings, and client meetings, and to Austin for Texas Medical Board and other state-level administrative hearings. Many proceedings are also conducted via videoconference – a practice that became standard during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues today.

How quickly can you review my physician employment contract?

We can book you for a contract review within one to five business days, often faster for urgent deadlines. Contact us immediately when you receive an offer – we'll work within your timeline.

Can an RN Start an IV Hydration Business in Texas?

Yes, but with important restrictions. In Texas, registered nurses can administer IV hydration therapy, but they cannot independently own medical practices due to the Corporate Practice of Medicine (CPOM) doctrine.

Required structure for RN-owned IV hydration businesses:

• Physician-owned PLLC provides medical services
• RN-owned MSO (Management Service Organization) provides non-medical services
• Medical director agreement defines physician oversight
• Compliance with CPOM, Stark Law, and Anti-Kickback Statute

I received a Medicare audit letter. How quickly should I respond?

Immediately. Most Medicare audits have 30- to 45-day response deadlines. Missing deadlines forfeits appeal rights. Contact us the same day you receive an audit notification so we can get to work protecting your bottom line.

I received a Texas Medical Board complaint. Do I need a lawyer?

It is not required but we recommend you do. Providers who respond without representation often make statements that complicate defense.

Do you handle non-compete disputes for Dallas physicians?

Yes, we both defend physicians against non-compete enforcement and represent practices enforcing non-competes throughout North Texas. Services include enforceability analysis under SB 1318, geographic mapping, negotiation, and litigation defense.

Are physician non-competes enforceable in Texas?

Yes, but with strict requirements under Texas SB 1318 (effective September 1, 2025) and existing Texas laws, including a maximum five-mile radius, one-year duration, buyout capped at annual salary, access to patient records going back one year, and an automatic void if the physician is terminated without "good cause."

Call (713) 783-3110 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.