In a number of previous columns, we have analyzed the prohibition on corporate practice of the professions. The state’s police power historically has included licensure and regulation of learned professions such as the law, medicine, architecture, engineering and so on. The provision of medical services, dealing as it does with the health and well-being of individuals, is one of the fundamental areas of public safety and has long been viewed as appropriate to oversight and regulation by the state.
The prohibition on corporate practice of medicine is an old one, and its origins can be found in both statutory and common law.1 Medical or mental health services in New York may be provided only by individuals or entities licensed by the state. One of the controlling statutes is the Education Law, which governs professional practice by individual professionals such as physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and others. Other laws, including the Public Health Law and Mental Hygiene Law, govern entities such as hospitals, diagnostic and treatment centers, inpatient and outpatient mental health facilities, and others.
