MARK RAVIS M.D. / J.D.
Doctor – Lawyer – Masters of Public Administration
Dr. Mark Ravis is actively licensed in California as both a physician and Lawyer. Dr. Ravis’s has been an attorney for over 20 years. His practice emphasizes the defense of doctors and civil rights. Dr. Ravis advocates for the independence of physicians and the decoupling of medical decisions from corporate practice.
Dr. Ravis is a self diagnosed workaholic. His idea of a vacation is to attend a continuing education seminar or analyze a new medical-legal case. Not satisfied with his MD/JD degrees, Dr. Ravis also has a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration on health care policy.
Physician Advocate
Dr. Ravis is an experienced trial lawyer. He combines his academic excellence with the heart and soul of a civil rights warrior. Right and wrong matter to Dr. Ravis and he is an unflinching defender of the medical profession.
As trial lawyer and physician advocate, Dr. Ravis has represented many physicians in medical board, peer review, business, administrative, licensing, and certification issues. As a California medical license lawyer, Dr. Ravis focuses on separating the qualifications of the physician from the political influences that can lead to medical license issues. Dr. Ravis has extensive experience in physician contract review and medical employment litigation.
Protecting Medical Licenses
Medical licenses are often challenged for failure to comply with the current political trends or from disputes arising out of professional jealousy and competition. Dr. Ravis forces an evidence based analysis of quality of care issues. This is an increasing “hot button” issue. The opioid prescription changes resulted in billion dollar judgments against large corporations but the unseen victims were physicians who followed long accepted standards which were changed almost overnight by politicians. (And then partially changed back.)
Recently California enacted legislation where medical decisions were dictated by lawyer/politicians. The law states that any licensed physician or surgeon is committing “unprofessional conduct” if they disseminate “misinformation or disinformation” about the nature and risks of the virus, the prevention and treatment of COVID-19, and the development, safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.
You may or may not agree with this law but it is a major change in how medicine is practiced. Rarely has there been a formal legislative pronouncement of what is or is not medically proper. We may see more of these legislated standards in the future.
Medical license defense often involves unpublished and even underground rules and regulations. The same standards put into the formal California law, may exist under the surface in the minds of a medical board or a board’s retained expert. As a physician lawyer, Dr. Ravis challenges these unpublished standards to see if they survive critical, evidence-based analysis. If your license is challenged based upon an ambiguous standard or quality of care issue, Dr. Ravis will demand an answer to the question: “Where in the literature is there evidence based support for your criticism of my client?” A political trend or a current treatment belief cannot constitutionally or ethically be used to restrict a physician’s license.
In California and many other states, simple negligence is not a basis to challenge a medical license. Repeated negligence or gross negligence can trigger medical board actions. Once again, Dr. Ravis’ evidence based approach is effective in addressing whether conduct is simply negligent and therefore not actionable. He can also explain and address medical malpractice settlements which are necessarily reported to the medical board, placing these settlements in context and eliminating (or reducing) board action.
Patient Advocate
Dr. Ravis has served as counsel for homes that provide care for disabled adults ensuring that they receive proper funding and proper reimbursement. Dr. Ravis ensured that the level of patient care remained at the highest level and that the care facility remained protected and financially solvent. As a health care consumer advocate, Dr. Ravis has filed class action lawsuits in state and federal courts. He recently was a principal counsel in a class action case against a Fortune 500 health insurance company. As a lawyer, Dr. Ravis has stood in the face of insurance companies as they attempt to practice medicine without a license using reimbursement limitations without regard to patient needs or the best physician judgment.
Civil Rights Activist
Dr. Ravis’s background is rooted in the Civil Rights movement. He is noted for his work in civil rights litigation, including Title VI and Title VII and Eighth Amendment cases. He has been a legal advisor to the Compton NAACP Chapter and a legal advisor to the Congress of Racial Equality, and a member of the Black Health Task Force in South Los Angeles. He has done pro bono work for non-profit organizations in South Los Angeles.
Top Level Legal Teams
Dr. Ravis works with an independent group of the best physician lawyers. Dr. Ravis assembles legal teams to aggressively protect the individual physician.
Working with legendary attorney Daniel Horowitz, Dr. Ravis forms a custom group of the best lawyers, best investigators and best paralegals particularly suited to work on your case.
This team of independent top experts is designed to customize your legal representation. If there are business issues, Dr. Ravis will bring Molly Northrup, MBA onto your team. If there are trial issues and the case involves medical board hearings, peer review hearings or a jury trial, Dr. Ravis has choices of co-counsel, paralegals and investigators with extensive trial experience. Dr. Ravis’ investigators include a former Naval Intelligence officer, former law enforcement officers and high level corporate sleuths. In every case you get an experienced team focused on your specific needs.
Call Dr. Mark Ravis at (925) 283-1863 (or fill out the form below)
