Hospitals will have a limited waiver of HIPAA sanctions and penalties during the COVID-19 outbreak as a result of a bulletin issued on March 16, 2020 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Office of Civil Rights also issued a reminder that even during a medical emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, all health care providers must comply … Continue Reading
Category Archives: Physicians
Subscribe to Physicians RSS FeedManaging the Healthcare Workplace During the COVID-19 Outbreak
Healthcare providers have special concerns for their employees during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global health pandemic.
Because COVID-19 spreads primarily as a result of close exposure to an infected person, healthcare employees are at higher risk of infection. While OSHA has a standard to protect employees from the spread of bloodborne pathogens, it currently has no standard for the spread of … Continue Reading
Direct Patient Billing Can Create Provider Liability in Florida
To bill or not to bill, that is the question. Or, more appropriately, who to bill and when to bill, that is the question. Providers who bill patients under the circumstances described below may face liability. What is a provider to do?
A patient was injured in the course of her employment in December 2013 and applied for workers’ compensation … Continue Reading
Florida Patient Brokering Act Amended – Does it Clarify or Create New Issues?
The Florida Legislature recently passed HB 369 (the Bill), which would tweak an important provision of the Florida Patient Brokering Act, Section 817.505 of the Florida Statutes (Patient Brokering Act). It seeks to clarify the exception to the Patient Brokering Act which incorporated by reference the criminal provisions of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. S1320a-7b(b)) pertaining to illegal remuneration) … Continue Reading
FTC Prevails in Physician Merger Case Before the 8th Circuit
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals recently handed the Federal Trade Commission another appellate victory in its efforts to curtail anticompetitive mergers in the healthcare industry, affirming the FTC’s earlier District Court victory in Federal Trade Commission v. Sanford Health. The decision follows a number of other recent FTC appellate victories in healthcare merger cases – in the … Continue Reading
Possible Changes to Stark Law in 2019
Last summer The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) solicited input on potential amendments to the federal Physician Self-Referral Law (the Stark Law). CMS intends the amendments to eliminate obstacles to its stated goal of enhancing coordinated care and transitioning from volume-based to value-based payment systems. By the end of last summer, almost 400 stakeholders had provided feedback, including … Continue Reading
Florida Clinic License Exemptions Subject to Change
Holders of Florida healthcare clinic license exemptions take note. Exemption certificates, which currently bear no expiration date, will expire every two years if a bill recently passed by the Florida Legislature becomes law. Senate Bill 622 will require exemption holders to renew their clinic license exemption biennially.
The bill is silent as to treatment of existing certificate holders, but businesses … Continue Reading
Medicare Providers Face December 1 Deadline to Request Review of Medicare Payment Adjustments
Providers have just a couple more days to challenge Medicare’s proposed 2018 value modifier payment adjustments. On September 18, 2017, Medicare released quality reports and measures used to calculate quality-based payment adjustments affecting providers’ 2018 Medicare fees. Physicians, physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse anesthetists who believe such proposed payment adjustments are in error have until 8 … Continue Reading
The Treating Physician: Entitled to Expert Witness Fees at Trial?
When is a treating physician considered an expert witness and therefore entitled to expert witness fees when he testifies at trial? Apparently, the Florida District Courts of Appeal have formulated the typical lawyer response – it depends!… Continue Reading
“Sometimes Wrong, Never in Doubt” – A New Perspective?
Two recent studies of medical malpractice claims highlight how patient complaints may identify those surgeons at greater risk for complications, a significant decrease in paid medical malpractice claims since 1992, and the need for greater understanding of the causes of differences in claims experience across medical specialties.… Continue Reading
Global Ransomware Attack Makes Healthcare Organizations Wanna Cry
As has been widely reported, on May 12, 2017, organizations around the world, including Britain’s National Health Service, found their data held hostage by actors using a new variant of ransomware called WannaCry. According to news reports, 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries have been hit by the cyberattack which appears to be spread by phishing emails. There are … Continue Reading
Potential Implications to the ACA Under the Incoming Republican Administration – Part II: Physicians
In contemplating the ways in which physicians may be affected by the possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—and certain features of any legislation that may replace it—a good place to start is with the person selected by President Trump to be the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – Representative Tom Price of Georgia, … Continue Reading
DEA Tweaks, Walks Back Changes to Renewal Process
DEA recently revised an earlier announcement that would have eliminated the grace period for renewals of controlled substance registrations. After initially declaring that prescribers and other registrants would no longer be able to renew their expired registrations during a grace period, DEA announced it would instead continue allowing that practice – for now at least. As a result, registrants who … Continue Reading
Coming Soon: More Paperwork for Healthcare Providers
Employers may see an uptick in requests for accommodations of mental disabilities, and healthcare providers may be asked to fill out yet more paperwork, as a result of two new publications issued by the EEOC last week.… Continue Reading
HHS Publishes a New Rule to Protect Dialysis Patients From Being “Steered” into Private Coverage for the Benefit of Dialysis Centers
On implementing significant, new requirements for Medicare-certified dialysis facilities that make payment of premiums for individual health coverage, on December 14, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published an Interim final rule with comment period. The regulations become effective 30 days after the date of publication – January 13, 2017, and comments regarding the interim must be … Continue Reading
Deciphering Florida’s New Laws on ARNP and PA Controlled Substance Prescribing
During the 2016 legislative session, Florida granted authority to both advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs) and physician assistants (PAs) to prescribe controlled substances, subject to approval by their supervising practitioner. This change brings these professionals’ authority in line with what most other states allow. However, this was not a complete grant of prescribing authority and, as explained below, leaves these … Continue Reading
HIPAA Audits – Phase 2: On-Site Audits Scheduled for First Quarter of 2017
Covered Entities and Business Associates may be ringing in the New Year with the prospect of responding to on-site HIPAA audits by federal regulators. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced that a certain number of comprehensive on-site HIPAA compliance reviews will be done over the first quarter of next year. Details … Continue Reading
When a Discount May be a Kickback
Healthcare providers of all kinds, as well as medical equipment suppliers, have traditionally relied upon discounts as a legitimate means of attracting patients and commercial clients without running afoul of the federal anti-kickback statute (AKS). Congress specifically created the discount “safe harbor” to the AKS years ago based on its policy of encouraging discounts that are properly disclosed as a … Continue Reading
Attention Employers: Action Required Before Having Employees or Contractors Sign Non-Disclosure Agreements
In May, President Obama signed the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 into law, the details of which we reported in a recent Akerman Practice Update. The Act allows companies for the first time to bring trade secret theft claims under federal law. One of the many important provisions of the law that employers should not overlook is … Continue Reading
Prepare for the Unexpected with Data Storage and Retrieval
Last week, a federal court in Illinois encountered another example of unexpected events causing problematic privacy and data storage implications for a healthcare company. The non-profit organization responsible for maintaining the MetroChicago Health Information Exchange (the HIE) filed suit against its information technology support contractor and the contractor’s owner to prevent the contractor’s plan to destroy all client data after … Continue Reading
Shhh….OCR Releases New HIPAA Audit Protocol
Just in time for the Phase 2 audits, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) quietly posted the updated HIPAA Audit Protocol on its website. The new audit protocol has been updated to include business associates who became subject to HIPAA following the 2013 HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule. The protocol covers Privacy Rule, Security Rule … Continue Reading
Fighting Prescription Drug Abuse Gets a Little Easier for Florida Providers, Pharmacists
Pharmacies, dispensing prescribers, and certain healthcare facilities in Florida will soon have an easier time complying with controlled-substance reporting requirements.… Continue Reading
CMS Updates Two-Midnight Rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has revised the two-midnight rule to create an exception that will allow payment under Medicare Part A for certain medically necessary hospital stays that do not extend across two midnights. The new rule is effective for admissions after January 1, 2016, and permits payment on a case-by-case basis, supported by the admitting … Continue Reading
Culture of Safety Wins: Federal Patient Safety Law Preempts Amendment 7
Florida’s First District Court of Appeal issued its opinion in the highly watched case of Southern Baptist Hospital of Florida, Inc. v. Charles et al. The First District Court ruled that the federal Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA):
- Expressly preempts any broad discovery rights afforded under Florida’s Amendment 7 for documents meeting the definition of Patient
