Christopher Guthrie

Astutely ensuring compliance on state and national health law matters

Chris Guthrie guides clients on state and national health law matters. His experience includes regulatory compliance for health care transactions; Medicare and Medicaid program enrollment, billing and compliance; provider licensure and scopes of practice; state- and federal-controlled substance enforcement; telemedicine and telepharmacy regulations; and surrogate health care decision-making, including guardianships and powers of attorney. His clients include:

• Pharmacies
• Drug and device distributors and manufacturers
• Durable medical equipment suppliers
• Hospitals and hospital systems
• Behavioral health providers
• Practitioners
• Insurers

• Advises clients on regulatory and compliance matters pertaining to the manufacturing, distribution and dispensing of prescription and over-the-counter drugs and devices.
• Identifies licensure and enrollment filing requirements for health care providers undergoing a change of ownership or information and leads efforts to complete all filings on behalf of the providers.
• Litigates guardianship and protective placement matters and provides guidance related to powers of attorney and other surrogate decision-maker issues for hospitals and associated providers.
• Assesses implications of health care providers’ transactions and corporate reorganizations, and provides strategy related to compliance, licensing and enrollments.
• Advocates for health care providers and other related entities with state regulatory boards, state and federal health care programs and government investigators.

• Navigated national retail pharmacy chain through updates of its Medicare and Medicaid enrollments after a multistep internal reorganization.
• Provided strategic guidance to behavioral health provider with locations throughout the United States on Medicare and Medicaid enrollment issues to better position it for acquisition.
• Guided charitable pharmacy and distributor on regulatory and licensing matters as it expanded operations into multiple states with additional partners.
• Successfully obtained over 100 guardianship orders for patients at client hospitals who had not previously identified a surrogate decisionmaker. Included in these matters were multiple contested cases, cases seeking the involuntary administration of psychotropic medication and cases seeking guardian authority to consent to electroconvulsive treatment.
• Spearheaded pro bono initiative, in collaboration with nonprofit partners, to secure predicate orders for multiple undocumented minors seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.