On May 9, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia found that an attending physician acted legally when collecting blood and urine samples from a patient in emergency custody without the… Read more
Recent Posts
Good News for Skilled Nursing Communities from the Virginia General Assembly
Nursing Home Truth in Advertising Passes Virginia General Assembly All adult care communities in Virginia should thank their representatives in the Virginia General Assembly for passing the Nursing Home Truth in Advertising legislation on March… Read more
It’s That Time of Year! HIPAA Breach Reporting Deadline is March 1.
Breach Notification Rule The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule requires healthcare providers and certain health plans to notify the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), of breaches of unsecured… Read more
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Arbitration Contracts’ Arbitrability Language
On January 8, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States found that when arbitration agreements delegate to the arbitrator the question of whether a dispute is arbitrable or is subject to the arbitration contract,… Read more
How’s Your Business Associate Agreement?
Not Having One Just Cost A Florida Physician’s Group $500,000! The requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act… Read more
“Texting” Can be Hazardous to a Healthcare Provider’s Well Being!
Texting is perhaps the most ubiquitous manner of communication in our society today. For example, texts from the Presidential Office are now considered official governmental documents and have become almost routine. However, healthcare providers in… Read more
Deadline to Report 2016 HIPAA Breach to HHS is Friday, March 1, 2017
The HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, 45 CFR §§ 164.400-414, requires HIPAA covered entities and their business associates to provide notification following a breach of unsecured protected health information. As part of the HITECH revisions to HIPAA,… Read more
Important Information for Our Healthcare Clients
Phishing Alert from the Office of Civil Rights OCR Alert: Phishing Email Disguised as Official OCR Audit Communication The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights has alerted the public to a… Read more
DOJ/FTC Issue Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals
Companies must take care to keep hiring policies confidential when competing to hire the same types of employees On October 20, 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)… Read more
OCR’s Highly Anticipated Phase 2 HIPAA Audits: Ready or Not!
As a part of its continued efforts to assess compliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced the launch of its Phase 2 HIPAA… Read more