Author: WadeEmmert

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Health Law Highlights

5 Best Practices for Achieving Healthcare Cloud Compliance

Summary of article from Pro IT Today, by Christopher Tozzi:

Healthcare organizations can ensure cloud compliance by adopting several key practices. Implementing a zero trust security strategy is essential to protect sensitive data by granting access only when necessary. Educating cloud engineers about specific compliance requirements and using cloud data loss prevention (DLP) tools to detect and secure sensitive information are also crucial steps. Additionally, considering on-premises storage for highly sensitive data and opting for simpler cloud architectures can help minimize compliance risks. These measures collectively support the secure and compliant management of healthcare data in cloud environments.

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Health Law Highlights

The Wearable Revolution: How to Use Personal Health Device Data in Litigation

Summary of article from Butler Snow LLP, by Katelyn Ashton, Susanna Moldoveanu:

Wearable technology can play an important role in civil litigation due to its ability to collect extensive health and activity data, such as heart rate, sleep patterns, and physical activity. This data can provide critical evidence in personal injury and product liability cases, helping to substantiate or refute claims about a plaintiff’s physical condition and activity levels before and after an alleged incident. Legal standards for discovering and admitting such data are evolving, with courts generally supporting its relevance while balancing privacy considerations. Strategic use of written discovery requests, specific data formats, and expert testimony can effectively incorporate wearable device data into legal proceedings. This shift underscores the growing evidentiary value of personal health data from wearable devices.

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Health Law Highlights

CMS Releases Proposed Rule on Anomalous DME Spending and MSSP Financial Calculations

Summary of article from American Hospital Association:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule to address significant, anomalous, and highly suspect (SAHS) billing activity affecting the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) financial calculations for 2023. CMS proposes excluding payment amounts for certain intermittent urinary catheter codes from expenditure and revenue calculations for 2023, impacting benchmarks for subsequent years and application cycles for new agreements starting in 2025. This decision follows advocacy from the AHA and others to relieve accountable care organizations (ACOs) from the financial burden of anomalous spending beyond their control. CMS has initiated a 30-day comment period, ending July 29, to ensure minimal disruption to ACO timelines. The AHA supports this move and anticipates further measures in the upcoming CY 2025 Physician Fee Schedule to address anomalous spending comprehensively.

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Health Law Highlights

Texas Supreme Court Upholds Ban on Youth Gender Transitions. It’s the Largest State With Such a Law

Summary of article from AP News, by Jim Vertuno, Andrew Demillo:

The Texas Supreme Court upheld a state law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, rejecting parental pleas that it violates their rights to seek care for their children. The 8-1 ruling maintains the law, effective since September 2023, making Texas the largest state to enforce such restrictions among at least 25 others. The law prohibits hormone therapies, puberty blockers, and transition surgeries for minors, with exceptions for certain medical conditions, drawing criticism for its perceived discriminatory nature. Opponents, including major medical organizations, argue the law harms transgender youths’ mental health and limits essential care, while supporters claim it protects children. The decision aligns with a broader national trend of legislative actions against transgender rights, with ongoing legal challenges and potential future federal implications.

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Health Law Highlights

Why Nurses Are Protesting AI

Summary of article from Healthcare Brew, by Tom McKay:

The National Nurses United (NNU) is protesting the increasing use of AI in healthcare, arguing it devalues nursing skills and exacerbates understaffing issues. They claim that AI-driven continuous data collection cannot replace the expertise and physical presence of nurses, often leading to inefficiencies and potentially harmful practices. Nurses report that AI systems sometimes prevent them from overriding critical decisions and can limit direct patient-doctor communication. Additionally, many AI tools are unregulated and untested, raising concerns about their reliability and the speed at which they are being implemented. While nurses acknowledge the benefits of certain technologies, they emphasize that poorly integrated AI can become a significant burden.

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Health Law Highlights

Blockchain-Based Healthcare Credentialing: A Solution to High Costs and Administrative Burdens

Summary of article from Cureus, by Ebenezer Chinedu-Eneh, Priya Ramaswamy, Patrick E. Farmer:

The healthcare sector faces significant inefficiencies in its credentialing system, leading to staff shortages, delayed patient care, and financial waste. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted these issues, prompting temporary suspensions of credentialing processes. Blockchain technology offers a promising solution by automating and securing credential verification, potentially saving time and costs, increasing trustworthiness, and enhancing workforce resilience. Successful implementations in other countries demonstrate blockchain’s potential to revolutionize healthcare administration. Adopting blockchain for credentialing could transform the system, making it more efficient, reliable, and secure.

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Alert

Eight Charged Locally as Part of National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action

Press Release from United States Department of Justice, Southern District of Texas:

On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced charges against eight individuals as part of the Justice Department’s 2024 National Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action. These charges involve various schemes, including fraudulent Medicare billing, kickbacks, and money laundering, amounting to over $2.75 billion in false billings nationwide. The accused include residents from Texas and Florida, with allegations ranging from operating fake businesses to billing for unprovided medical services. The enforcement action resulted in the seizure of over $231 million in assets. The FBI, Health and Human Services OIG, and other federal and state agencies conducted the investigations, while Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Department of Justice Trial Attorneys are prosecuting the cases.

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Health Law Highlights

Federal District Court Finds Private-Insurer Relator Can Proceed with False Claims Action

Summary of article from The FCA Insider, by Michael Podberesky, Brett Barnett, Stephen Tagert:

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey allowed Allstate Insurance Company to proceed with its whistleblower action against Phoenix Toxicology and Lab Services, LLC, alleging the submission of false claims for unnecessary urine drug tests to federal programs. This case highlights a trend of non-traditional whistleblowers, such as private insurers and litigation-funding groups, increasingly bringing False Claims Act actions. The ruling underscores the importance for healthcare providers to be vigilant about potential fraud detection by both insiders and external parties. This decision also illustrates the growing role of the Department of Justice in addressing fraudulent activities related to the opioid epidemic and federal healthcare programs.

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Health Law Highlights

Six Months to Go: HIPAA Privacy Rule Changes Require Additional Diligence

Summary of article from Taft Privacy & Data Security Insights, by Scot Ganow:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued final regulations modifying the HIPAA Privacy Rule to protect individuals’ reproductive health information, effective June 25, 2024, with compliance required by December 23, 2024. These changes prohibit HIPAA-regulated entities from disclosing protected health information (PHI) for purposes of investigating or imposing liability for lawful reproductive health care. Additionally, the regulations establish a presumption of lawfulness for reproductive care and mandate obtaining signed attestations for certain disclosures. HIPAA-covered entities and business associates must update their policies, procedures, agreements, and training to align with these new requirements. Notices of privacy practices must also be revised by February 16, 2026.

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Health Law Highlights

Healthcare Scores a B for Cybersecurity

Summary of article from The HIPAA Journal, by Steve Adler:

SecurityScorecard awarded the U.S. healthcare industry a B+ cybersecurity rating for the first half of 2024, despite significant breaches, including a major ransomware attack on Change Healthcare. The study assessed the top 500 publicly traded healthcare companies, revealing a mean security score of 88. Medical device manufacturers and suppliers had the lowest security scores within the sector, largely due to their extensive attack surfaces. Key areas for improvement include application security, DNS health, and network security, with common issues such as weak SSL/TLS protocols and outdated web browsers. Recommendations for enhancing security emphasize third-party risk management and improved application and endpoint security practices.

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