Joel G. Wakefield

Joel has spent his career assisting hospitals, health care facilities, and multi-specialty physician groups address transactional, regulatory, and operational issues faced by the health care industry. He aids clients in structuring, negotiating, and implementing effective financial relationships with their business partners. Joel has extensive experience with hospital/physician joint ventures; management and administrative service arrangements; professional service contracts; information systems contracting and all other aspects of business relationships. He assists clients as they navigate the anti-kickback laws, Stark, and a wide array of other regulatory obligations health care providers face. He uses his extended experience as in-house counsel in helping hospitals address all manner of day-to-day operational issues.

Before joining the firm, Joel practiced in the health law department of Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle, Washington, and served as in-house counsel for Virginia Mason Medical Center, a large multi-specialty group practice with 400 employed physicians, a teaching hospital, a health plan and an active research center. While at Virginia Mason, Joel was instrumental in establishing and advising the organization’s corporate compliance program and HIPAA team. He also served as the Director of Government Relations and  the Director of Risk Management.

EDUCATION AND BAR ADMISSIONS

• J.D., University of Chicago, 1991, with honors
• B.A., Brigham Young University, 1988
• Admitted in Arizona, 2003
• Admitted in Washington, 1991 (inactive)

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• Representing the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association as outside counsel for the nurse registry program, managed care task force, vendor contracting, and advisor on regulatory issues
• Representing rural hospitals in establishing business relationships with community physicians, including joint ventures, on-call services agreements, and professional services arrangements
• Representing a provider-owned health plan in structuring and negotiating a management services relationship with other plans
• Serving as local counsel for national hospital systems with Arizona facilities, as well as counseling on legal aspects of out-of-state transactions
• Drafting and counseling on the development of legislation, including health plan prompt payment statues

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND RECOGNITIONS

• President, Arizona Association of Health Care Attorneys (2004-08); AAHCL Board (2003–present), Annual Meeting Chair (2004)
•  American Bar Association Health Law Section; Vice-Chair, Fraud and Compliance Interest Group (2009-present); Co-Chair, Emerging Issues Conference (2007-09)
• President, Washington State Society of Healthcare Attorneys (2001); WSSHA Board Member (1999-2002)
• Member, Medical Group Management Association Government Affairs Committee
• Founding member and planning committee member, American Group Practice Association Counsel of Group Practice Attorneys
• Fluent in Spanish

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS AND SPEECHES

• "The Relentless Consistency of Change - 7 Things You Need to Know about the Direction of Health Care Law," HFMA-Arizona Chapter (2010)
• "The HITECH Act: The Carrot and the Stick-Paying for the EHR," AzHHA Webinar (2009)
• “Stark Reality – Hacking Our Way through the Health Care Regulatory Jungle,” Health Care Update sponsored by the New Mexico Bar Association and local chapters of the MGMA and HFMA (2009)
• “How To Cultivate Mentors and Other Survival Tips For Any Organization,” Arizona State Bar Leadership Institute (2009)
• “The New Stark Rules: Analysis and Application,” (Moderator) ABA Emerging Issues in Health Care Law Conference (2009)
• "A Hospital and Its On-Call Physicians: Doing What's Right Without Doing Anything Wrong,"  AzHHA EMTALA Seminar (November 2009)
• “Fundamentals of a Health Care Transaction,” ABA Emerging Issues in Health Care Law Conference (2008)
• “Stark Reality – Phase III Final Rules and Beyond,” AzHHA Webinar (2007)
• "Stark Reality – Phase III Final Rules and Beyond – Changes for Hospital/Physician Relationships," Teleconference for AzHHA (October 2007)
• “Document Retention: A Quick Reference Guide,” Journal of Health Care Law, (Fall, 2004)
• Arizona Consent and Health Information Resource Manual, co-author (2004, 2009)