An article in the July issue of Hospital Peer Review, “NPDB Reporting Protected by Law in Some Cases, Gray Areas Problematic,” discussed hospitals’ obligations to report doctors to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) and their protection against liability for doing so. Rivkin Radler’s Chris Kutner was quoted extensively in the article.
OIG: Hospitals Need to Improve Oversight of Cybersecurity for Networked Medical Devices
On June 23, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) posted on its website an Issue Brief entitled “Medicare Lacks Consistent Oversight of Cybersecurity for Networked Medical Devices in Hospitals.” According to the OIG, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should amend interpretative guidelines or other nonbinding guidelines, or
FDA Issues Medical Device Safety Guidance for MRI Facilities
On May 19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued final guidance for assessing the safety and compatibility of medical devices within magnetic resonance imaging facilities. The guidance applies to implanted devices, external devices like insulin pumps and pulse oximeters, and any other devices that may be brought into MRI rooms, but not to
OIG Issues Favorable Advisory Opinion on Hospital/Physician Joint Venture ASC
In a recent advisory opinion, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded that certain investments by a health system, manager and physicians in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) did not create a substantial risk of fraud and abuse under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) even though the
Pandemic response, fraud and abuse top Biden’s enforcement priorities
A March 24 article in Wolters Kluwer’s Health Law Daily, “STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVES: Pandemic response, fraud and abuse top Biden’s enforcement priorities,” quoted healthcare industry experts who predict increased enforcement in the areas of fraud and abuse, False Claims Act (FCA) cases, and pandemic-related waivers. Rivkin Radler’s Robert Hussar was quoted in the
Time For CEs, BAs to Take Right of Access Seriously
A March 11 article in the Health Care Compliance Association’s Report on Patient Privacy, “In Wake of 16th OCR Settlement, Time For CEs, BAs to Take Right of Access Seriously,” discussed the Right of Access Initiative that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has been pursuing since
False Claims Act Cases Poised to Jump Now and for Years to Come
Rivkin Radler’s Evan H. Krinick wrote an article entitled “False Claims Act Cases Poised to Jump Now and for Years to Come” that was published in the March 5, 2021 issue of the New York Law Journal. The article discusses health insurance fraud cases in 2020 that involved kickbacks, provision of medically
HIPAA Right of Access Initiative Marches On
For those providers who somehow missed or ignored the first 15 settlements in the series, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced that Sharp HealthCare, doing business as Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Centers, agreed to pay a $70,000 fine for failing to provide a patient with timely access
Yet Another HIPAA Right of Access Settlement
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the 14th settlement in its ongoing HIPAA Right of Access Initiative. Banner Health, a Phoenix-based health system that operates 30 hospitals and many other healthcare facilities, agreed to pay $200,000 for failing to provide patients with timely access to their medical