Contributed by: Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) received a report that a physician practice, Phoenix Cardiac Surgery (PCS), was posting clinical and surgical appointments for their patients on an Internet-based calendar that was publicly accessible. OCR investigated and found that PCS had implemented few policies and procedures to…
Pacific Radiation Oncology LLC v. Queen’s Medical Center is a “retro” case in which the plaintiff physicians have obtained a temporary restraining order barring Queen’s Medical Center from adopting a closed department policy for its radiology oncology department.
Although this case is just in its early stages, it is interesting to note that federal court…
Martindale-Hubble announced that Tucker Arensberg as a “Top Ranked Law Firm.” This ranking is awarded to law firms with more than 21 attorneys and which at least 1 in 3 of their lawyers earned the AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating, the highest possible rating. An AV Preeminent certification is a significant accomplishment – a …
| For Immediate Release: | Tuesday, April 10, 2012 |
| Contact: | CMS Office of Public Affairs 202-690-6145 |
NEW AFFORDABLE CARE ACT PROGRAM TO IMPROVE CARE, CONTROL MEDICARE COSTS, OFF TO A STRONG START
OVER 1.1 MILLION BENEFICIARIES NOW SERVED BY ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATIONS
A new program that will help physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers work
…
Special Alert
CMS proposes one-year delay for ICD-10
Today the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a rule that proposes to delay ICD-10 one year from Oct. 2013 to Oct. 2014. The one-year delay of ICD-10 is in response to continued concerns from MGMA and others that adoption of the new code…
Contributed by Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
Representatives from the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) and the Utah Department of Technology Services (DTS) announced details of a data breach by hackers involving 24,000 Medicaid claims. Information which may have been compromised included names, addresses, social security numbers, birth dates, and procedure codes according to the…
Contributed by: Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
In a unanimous decision, the US Supreme Court held that the claims in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. (Docket No. 10-1150) effectively claim a law of nature and are therefore not patent eligible under 35 U.S.C. 101. The claims in the Mayo decision were directed to a process…
Contributed by: Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
Previously, we commented on the ONC Mobile Devices Roundtable on March 16, 2012. Now, the video and other materials are available online. These materials may be accessed via the following link: http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/community/healthit_hhs_gov__mobile_devices_roundtable/3815?q=mobiledevicesroundtable#archive. (ONC has a Youtube video channel. This link leads to that for the video content.)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: QUESTIONABLE BILLING FOR MEDICARE INDEPENDENT DIAGNOSTIC TESTING FACILITY SERVICES
OEI-09-09-00380
WHY WE DID THIS STUDY
Independent Diagnostic Testing Facilities (IDTF), a type of Medicare provider, offer diagnostic services and are independent of physicians’ offices or hospitals. IDTF services have historically been vulnerable to abuse. In 1997, the Office of Inspector General found that…
Contributed by: Lee Kim, Esq.
412.594.3915
The ONC Health IT Mobile Devices roundtable is being aired today, on March 16, 2012, by way of live video webcast at http://www.hhs.gov/live.
Here are my thoughts upon hearing the content (which is certainly instructive and helpful) (and this was submitted to ONC Health IT for public comment):
1.
