I recently enjoyed the opportunity to connect with non-profit aging services providers from across Pennsylvania at the LeadingAge PA Annual Conference & Exposition in Hershey, PA.  As a licensed nursing home administrator for over ten years, I am all too familiar with the challenges faced by those whose mission is to provide care and services …

In Babb v. Centre Community Hospital Geisinger Clinic, and Penn State Geisinger Health System, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania refused to grant the Defendant’s immunity pursuant to the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA). 

The standard HCQIA analysis was applied by the Court. Dr. Babb alleged the defendants were biased and motivated by something other than…

Contributed by: Lee Kim, Esq.

412.594.3915

Senate Bill 8 was unanimously passed the House of Representatives.  Pending the Governor’s signature, the passage of SB 8 creates the Pennsylvania eHealth Partnership Authority to help govern the execution of the strategic plan we submitted to advance health information exchange in the Commonwealth. The objective of this legislation…

Health Industry Watch reported the following:

According to the OIG, 57% of Medicare physicians used an electronic health record (EHR) system at their primary practice location in 2011, based on a sample of 2,000 physicians who provided at least 100 evaluation and management (E/M) services in 2010. Almost one quarter of physicians (22%) first began

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The lead report in BNA’s Health Law Reporter on May 31, 2012 noted an increase in lawsuits by doctors claiming that hospital peer review proceedings are being used as retaliation for whistleblower activities, i.e. reports pointing out improper practices and patient safety issues. The report cites two primary reasons for this growing trend:

·         The…

OCR posted on its website the protocol used to conduct the audits required by the HITECH Act.  The OCR HIPAA Audit program analyzes key processes, controls, and policies of selected covered entities pursuant to the HITECH Act audit requirement.  OCR established a comprehensive audit protocol that contains the requirements to be assessed through these performance…

For participants in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, physician-based and rural providers who have come together voluntarily to give coordinated high quality care to the Medicare patients they serve through the Advance Payment ACO Model.  Through the Advance Payment ACO Model, selected participants will receive upfront and monthly payments, which they can use to make…

The Office of CIvil Rights has released a memo outlining an individual’s right to access their medical information. The memo explains that though the right to see and obtain a copy of one’s medical record has always been permitted by the HIPAA Privacy Rule, “many consumers face barriers to getting their health information – and…

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has announced the implementation of trademark clearinghouse services.  The trademark clearinghouse  will function as an information repository, offering authentication and validation services for trademark data. Trademark holders and generic top level domain (gTLD) registry operators will rely on the trademark clearinghouse to support rights protection mechanisms

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Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.

412.594.3915

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it will adopt rules to enable Medical Body Area Networks (MBANs)).  MBANs are low-power wideband networks.  MBAN technology comprises multiple body-worn sensors that transmit patient data to a control device for actively monitoring a patient’s health, such as vital signs, blood glucose…

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