Friday, November 14, 2014
What is BYOD? BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) appears to be a win-win for companies andemployees: employers save money on smart phone, tablet and laptop costs and employees enjoy the freedom of choosing their own device while enhancing communications and mobile care collaboration. BYOD in the Medical Industry However, in the medical industry, BYOD […]
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently issued written guidance on the obligations health care providers face under HIPAA to couples in legally valid same-sex marriages. United States v. Windsor Ruling As previously drafted, Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defined marriage (for federal […]
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
On September 18, 2014 the U.S. Attorney’s office announced that MidwestNeurosurgeons, LLC and it’s owner Dr. Sonjay Fonn and DS Medical, LLC and it’s owner, Deborah Seeger, were indicted for allegedly violating the Medicare Anti-Kickback Statue. Their story is an example of the enforcement agencies’ focus upon physician owned medical device distributors and an important […]
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
A recent article in Modern Healthcare gives necessary attention to PhysicianOwned Distributorships, or “PODs,” which are companies owned by physicians that sell medical devices to hospitals and outpatient surgery centers. In many situations, the POD’s physician owners are the same physicians who use the devices the facility purchases from the POD. Special Fraud Alert: […]
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
We’ve discussed businesses associates before and the need for hospitals, physicians, and other health care providers to have proper business associate agreements in place with third party vendors handling protected health information. In today’s post, we want to highlight the recent termination of a transitional compliance period, which ended on September 22, 2014. Extended […]
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
The U.S. House of Representatives have taken the first step towards providingrelief to health care providers from CMS rules. Under existing rules all hospitals, including critical-access hospitals and rural hospitals, must have a doctor or non-physician practitioner immediately available during any time a hospital provides outpatient therapeutic services. The doctor is not required to be […]
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
The Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (“AHRQ”) has released a guide to decrease hospital readmissions while providing better care to adults in Medicaid. The Hospital Guide to Reducing Medicaid Readmissions has been released after a two-year study was performed, using an evidence-based approach to provide recommendations for hospitals to reduce readmissions. The report […]
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
On August 29, 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Final Rule regarding the meaningful use requirements for the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. The Program CMS created the EHR Incentive Program to encourage providers to use electronic health records. Under the program, providers are encouraged to increase their […]
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Cardiovascular Specialists, P.C., (doing business as New York Heart Center) recently agreed to pay the United States over $1.33 Million to settle allegations that the practice violated the False Claims Act and the Physician Self-Referral Law (commonly referred to as the Stark Law). In this week’s post we will cover the practice’s actions and the […]
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Media outlets reporting on situations involving unrest and injuries(such as the recent developments in Ferguson, Missouri) often ask hospitals and medical professionals to provide information about the individuals they are treating. However, medical professionals must ensure the patient’s rights are not violated in all of the chaos that likely surrounds that treatment. In this week’s […]