August 2012

Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.

412.594.3915

In a press release today, the Pennsylvania eHealth Collaborative has announced that it has awarded grants to four organizations for regional and statewide health information exchanges.  The four recipients were each awarded $1.5 million.  These recipients were Highmark HIE, LLC, Lehigh Valley Hospital, Inc., St. Luke’s Hospital, and HealthShare

Best Lawyers compiles lists of outstanding attorneys by conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. In the U.S., Best Lawyers publishes an annual referral guide, The Best Lawyers in America, which includes 39,766 attorneys in 80 specialties, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.

412.594.3915

The final rule for meaningful use stage 2 for the electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs has been released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). It may be accessed here: http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2012-21050_PI.pdf.  Eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals must meet new criteria in

In Colorado Medical Society v. Hickenlooper, a Colorado appeals court ruled the state of Colorado may op-out of the CMS rules requiring physician supervision of CRNAs in hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, and critical access hospitals. 

The case is actually about the Medicare regulations for hospital participation, but it is based upon the concept of

Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.

412.594.3915

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has a pilot program called the Humanitarian Technology Challenge.  It has implemented a central database in two clinics fed by information from RFID tracking cards for identifying patients and handheld mobile devices.  Clinic assistants and community caseworkers assist doctors and enter patients’

Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.

412.594.3915

The FCC has a program that directs telecommunications service providers to given preferential treatment to users enrolled in the TSP program for adding or restoring service, regardless of the cause.  This may include communication circuits used for voice and data communications in emergency departments, with first responders (ambulance) as well as

Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.

412.594.3915

IT security is oftentimes overlooked until it is too late.  An organization may be faced with a data breach situation and, at that time, must deal with containing the risk, reporting the breach, and then determining how to prevent such problems in the future.  An organization would be better