| March 27, 2014 – Special Alert |
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March 2014
Federation of State Medical Boards to Vote on Telemedicine Policy
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Uncategorized
The March 20th edition of Modern Healthcare reports on a “patient centered telemedicine policy” to be voted on by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). I’ve attached links to both the article and to the FSMB model policy. The model policy, if approved, will be a recommendation to state medical boards regarding …
Practical considerations to protect against being ‘out of network’
Practical considerations to protect against being ‘out of network’
The disengagement of Highmark and UPMC is looming on the horizon; most of the hospital participation agreements between these two competing healthcare systems end on December 31, 2014. There are some hospital agreements that continue, such as those at Children’s and Magee, but the focus of…
OCR PREPARING FOR NEXT ROUND OF HIPAA AUDITS
By Paul Welk on
Posted in Compliance, HIPAA, HIT, and EHR
OCR PREPARING FOR NEXT ROUND OF HIPAA AUDITS
In a February 24, 2014 notice published in the Federal Register, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a pre-audit survey of HIPAA covered entities and business associates. The information collected will involve a survey of up to 1,200 covered…
Physician Obtains Injunction Preserving Clinical Privileges Despite Attempted Exclusive Contract
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
Despite the many cases acknowledging the right of hospitals to enter into exclusive contracts, there is always the issue of what happens with the existing clinical privileges and medical staff memberships of the physicians who are being replaced, assuming they are not the physicians receiving the exclusive contract. Defenders of physician rights have typically argued …
Do Windows XP Users Risk HIPAA Non-Compliance?
Posted on
Microsoft recently announced that, after April 8, 2014, it will not longer provide security updates or technical support for Windows XP. Microsoft’s statement that “businesses that are governed by regulatory obligations such as HIPAA may find that they are no longer able to satisfy compliance requirements” has spurred a certain level of panic among health…
Compliance Audit Information May Not Be Attorney Client Privileged
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Compliance
Attorneys routinely advise clients conducting audits and investigations that the audit or investigation should be conducted by outside counsel in order to establish attorney client privilege.
One of the problems with the OIG Self Disclosure protocol is that it requires the waiver of attorney client privilege. Now a federal district court has decided that audits …
California Decision Allows Physician to Challenge Sham Peer Review as Whistleblower Retaliation
By Michael Cassidy on
Posted in Credentialing and Peer Review
In Fahlen v. Sutter Central Valley Hospitals, the California Supreme Court found:
- A physician is not required to first exhaust his administrative remedies through the medical staff appeals process in order to challenge sham peer review as whistleblower retaliation; and
- Dr. Fahlen qualified as a whistleblower for purposes of the California Whistleblower Act.
The…