Contributed by Scott R. Leah, Esq.

sleah@tuckerlaw.com, 412.594.5551

In a recent case, several physicians challenged the ability of a medical practice to restrict their ability to practice medicine in accordance with a noncompetition agreement that they had signed. The physicians argued that the agreements were void as they violated state law on restricting the ability

 Contributed by Piyush Seth, Esquire

pseth@tuckerlaw.com, 412.594.5640

The Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the US Department of State, have announced a humanitarian parole policy allowing orphaned children from Haiti to enter the US temporarily.  Each case is reviewed separately (case by case basis) and depending upon the particular circumstances of the case, children are

Contributed by Lee Kim, Esquire

lkim@tuckerlaw.com or 412.594.3915

Connecticut Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal, as parens patriae for the State of Connecticut and on behalf of the State of Connecticut, sued Health Net of the Northeast, Inc. (“Health Net”) for multiple HIPAA violations. In a nutshell, Mr. Blumenthal stated in a press release, “The staggering scope of

Contributed by Lee Kim, Esquire

lkim@tuckerlaw.com, 412.594.3915

The HIPAA Security Rules require covered entities and (soon) business associates to implement and adopt administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to ensure that electronic protected health information (“ePHI”) is adequately protected from those without legitimate cause to access such information.  Only authorized personnel should be allowed to

Both the Senate and the House versions of the health care reform bills are 2,000 page unindexed monstrosities, making it extremely difficult to locate provisions of interest. The Sunday, January 10, 2010 edition of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, reports that a retired business professor, Doug Lowry, has written a program allowing searches of the Senate

Tucker Arensberg’s Mike Cassidy will present at the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) Physician and Hospitals Law Institute in Miami, Florida in February 2010.

Sessions at the event will provide focused analysis of the legal challenges faced by hospitals, physicians and their counsel. Breakout sessions will cover hospital/physician relationships, electronic health records (EHRs) and the Health

 Contributed by Nawshin Ali, Esquire

(412) 594-5530, nali@tuckerlaw.com

Certified registered nurse practitioners (CRNPs) in Pennsylvania now have expanded authority in prescribing drugs due to amendments to the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing (49 Pa.Code Ch. 21) effective as of December 12, 2009.

CRNPs can now prescribe Schedule II controlled substances

In a recent search for health care blogs, the Medlaw Blog was second on Google, out of millions of hits. The Health Care Blog was first, and we were impressed enough to add it as a link on ours. Happy New Year.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a majority opinion yesterday, December 29, 2009, vacating the Superior Court’s Bowmaster holding and reinstating the Order of the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County dated November 6, 2006.  E.D.B., v. Gerald Clair and Centre Community Hospital, No. 78 MAP 2008 (December 29, 2009), available at J-42-2009mo.pdf