Biography:
Andrew L. Hyams specializes in representing health professionals in licensing and disciplinary matters before their respective regulatory boards, and in hospital peer review proceedings. He has counseled scores of physicians appearing before the Board of Registration in Medicine’s Complaint Committee and Licensing Committee. Mr. Hyams represented the physician in the 2015 Supreme Judicial Court case reversing 20 years of Board of Medicine practice, establishing that a summary suspension must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence, not just substantial evidence. Mr. Hyams has obtained favorable outcomes for health professionals facing hospital discipline, including, e.g., reversal of summary suspension, and restoration of clinical privileges by showing the hospital’s violation of its own bylaws.
Mr. Hyams also assists his clients with professional contracts and their general business matters. He is chairperson of the Professional Licensure and Discipline group at KCL.
Mr. Hyams is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and New York. He was formerly the General Counsel at the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine, where he was the principal drafter of the Patient Care Assessment regulations. He was also a Deputy General Counsel at the Boston Public Health Commission. Attorney Hyams was an Adjunct Lecturer in Law and Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health from 1992 to 2005.
Attorney Hyams has presented at several Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education and Massachusetts Bar Association health law programs, and he has lectured for the Federal Judicial Center, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the Federation of State Medical Boards and the Administrators in Medicine 
Society. Mr. Hyams has authored peer-reviewed articles on physician and hospital regulation for Annals of Internal Medicine; Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics; Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law; and American Journal of Law and Medicine. He also wrote the Licensure and Discipline chapters for two editions of the American College of Legal Medicine’s publication, Legal Medicine: Legal Dynamics of Medical Encounters.
Attorney Hyams graduated from Amherst College (magna cum laude) and Harvard Law School. He also earned an MPH at Harvard School of Public Health where he received the annual Samdperil Prize for best research paper in health law. Attorney Hyams resides in Chestnut Hill. He was a Trustee of Temple Sinai in Brookline, from 2002 to 2012.
Recognitions
- Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating™
- Rx for Excellence Award, Massachusetts Medical Law Report
- Named to the Massachusetts Super Lawyers list, 2021
Recent Blog Posts and News
- Four KCL Attorneys Named to 2023 Massachusetts Super Lawyers Lists
Four KCL Attorneys Named to 2023 Massachusetts Super Lawyers Lists KCL is pleased to announce that four of the firm’s partners were selected to the 2023 Massachusetts Super Lawyers lists: Tristan Colangelo, Jeffrey Fink, Andrew Hyams and Maury Lederman. Maury …
- Andrew Hyams Presents at Massachusetts Psychiatric Society’s Program “Risk Avoidance & Risk Management Conference”
Andrew Hyams presented at the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society’s annual day-long program, “Risk Avoidance & Risk Management Conference” on March 11. The program focused on timely and relevant risk management issues facing psychiatrists in private practice …
- KCL Attorneys Named to 2021 Massachusetts Super Lawyers Lists
KCL is pleased to announce that three of the firm’s partners were selected to the 2021 Massachusetts Super Lawyers® lists: Jeffrey Fink, Andrew Hyams and Maury Lederman. Maury was also named to the Top 100: 2021 Massachusetts Super Lawyers list for the third y …
- You Received a Certified Letter and the Return Addressee Is the Board of Registration in Medicine: 10 Do’s and Don’ts to Protect Your Professional License
A certified letter arrives with a dreaded return address: “Board of Registration in Medicine, Wakefield, MA.” Now what? 1. Do not respond hastily. Resist the temptation to answer it yourself immediately, in the hopes that a quick response from you will result …
- You Received a Certified Letter and the Return Addressee Is the Board of Registration in Medicine: 10 Do’s and Don’ts to Protect Your Professional License
A certified letter arrives with a dreaded return address: “Board of Registration in Medicine, Wakefield, MA.” Now what? 1. Do not respond hastily. Resist the temptation to answer it yourself immediately, in the hopes that a quick response from you will result …
- A Novel Defense Strategy Reverses a Summary Suspension in 28 Days
Andrew Hyams won a reversal of a summary suspension at the Board of Registration in Medicine in 28 days, utilizing a legal procedure not included in the Board’s summary suspension regulation. In the past, it has taken doctors months and years to reverse summar …
- A Novel Defense Strategy Reverses a Summary Suspension in 28 Days
Andrew Hyams won a reversal of a summary suspension at the Board of Registration in Medicine in 28 days, utilizing a legal procedure not included in the Board’s summary suspension regulation. In the past, it has taken doctors months and years to reverse summar …
- Applying for a Massachusetts Medical License? Prepare for New Application Questions
The Board of Registration in Medicine has released its December 2018 license application revision. While the application is better-organized with clearer instructions, there are significant substantive changes with a common theme: the Board wants more informa …
- Applying for a Massachusetts Medical License? Prepare for New Application Questions
The Board of Registration in Medicine has released its December 2018 license application revision. While the application is better-organized with clearer instructions, there are significant substantive changes with a common theme: the Board wants more in …
- 2017 Year In Review
Dear Clients and Friends, Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year! In case you missed it last year, here are some of KCL’s 2017 highlights. Notable KCL Wins Board of Medicine Reverses Itself, Grants Andrew Hyams’ Client a Full Medical License | Attorneys: …
- Board of Medicine Reverses Itself, Grants Andrew Hyams’ Client a Full Medical License
In November, 2017, after the Board of Registration in Medicine voted 3-2 to “preliminarily deny” a medical license, the physician hired KCL partner Andrew Hyams. The Board’s basis for denial was that the physician was a defendant in multiple open and closed me …
- KCL Insights: March 10, 2017
The latest issue of KCL Insights includes recent client wins and blog posts. Andrew Hyams Testifies Against Proposed Board of Medicine Regulations – Andrew Hyams Former Employee Not Entitled to Unemployment Benefits in Massachusetts – Andra Hutchins Have Your …
- Andrew Hyams Testifies Against Proposed Board of Medicine Regulations
On March 1, 2017, Partner Andrew Hyams testified before the Board of Registration in Medicine at a public hearing on proposed amendments to the Board’s disciplinary regulations. Attorney Hyams was on a panel of four physician defense attorneys opposing the cha …
- Notable KCL Victories in 2016
We are happy to share some of our notable victories from 2016: KCL Wins One of First Cases Under New Alimony Termination Law Attorneys: E. Steven Coren KCL Wins Medical License Summary Suspension Decision: DALA Medical License Suspension Appeal Attorneys: Andr …
- Board of Registration in Medicine Reverses License Summary Suspension
The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine recently voted 6-0 to reverse its earlier decision and restore a KCL client’s medical license. Previously, the Board voted to suspend the physician’s license, alleging that he posed “an immediate and serious …
- KCL Insights: Recent Successes
The latest issue of KCL Insights includes: Partner Andrew Hyams Wins Medical License Summary Suspension Decision
- Partners Andrew Hyams Wins Medical License Summary Suspension Decision
DALA Medical License Suspension Appeal This past July, the Board of Registration in Medicine summarily suspended a physician’s license, alleging that he posed “an immediate and serious threat to the public health, safety and welfare.” According to the Board’s …
- Attorney Andrew Hyams’ Advice for Applying for a Medical License in Massachusetts
September 22 marked the first day of Fall and a successful end to the Spring/Summer 2016 medical license season for all of Andrew Hyams’ clients who applied for licenses. The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine website states that due to the large …
- SJC Reverses 20 Year Practice of Mass. Board of Registration in Medicine
In a June 9, 2015 decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, reversed the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine ruling regarding the temporary suspension of a doctor’s license. Associate Justice Robert J. Cordy, in a Single Justice decision, …
- The Massachusetts Physician License Application: 9 Traps to Avoid
Massachusetts has a reputation for having one of the most challenging physician license applications in the U.S. The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine (“MA Medical Board”) is strict, exacting and concerned about the slightest flaw or inconsisten …
- How to Challenge Extrapolation of a Payor Audit
At some point in your professional health career, you might be the recipient of a dreaded post-audit letter like the following from the fictional “PayLess Health Plan”: Dear Doctor, Thank you for your cooperation with our recent audit of our payments to you. …
- Physicians Denied Access to Complaints Against Them
Physicians under investigation are routinely unable to respond to Board of Registration in Medicine inquiries because they are unaware of the charges to which they are required to respond. The denial of copies of complaints and materials related to those compl …
- Why Does the Board of Medicine Keep Complaints Secret from Accused Physicians?
Physicians under investigation are routinely unable to respond to Board of Registration in Medicine inquiries because they are unaware of the nature and specifics of the charges to which they are required to respond. The denial of copies of complaints and mate …
- The Board of Medicine’s Hospital Resignation ‘Mouse Trap’
Any physician contemplating resignation from a position at a health care facility needs to be aware of a Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine “mouse trap” that can place him or her in professional peril. Click here to read the article (PDF) >
- Testimony Opposing Amendments to Board of Medicine Regulations
Statement of Andrew L. Hyams, Esq. Concerning Proposed Regulations of the Board of Registration in Medicine 243 CMR 2.00 Governing Licensing Provisions and the Practice of Medicine, April 14, 2010 I was the Board’s General Counsel from 1985 to 1990. I left the …