Welcome to the New York Health Care Blog, a community forum moderated by Harris Beach PLLC focused on the health care industry in New York state. Our goal is to generate an insightful discussion of current issues impacting the delivery of health care in New York. We will be offering our views as attorneys who work daily with health care providers and we encourage you to follow and to participate in the discussion.
By The HIPAA/HITECH Compliance Team
The New York Health Care Blog is featuring a series on compliance with the HIPAA Omnibus Rule which became effective on March 26, 2013. Covered entities and business associates must comply with the new provisions by September 23, 2013. Our series is intended to provide you with guidance and education on the Final Rule and the new compliance requirements.
As we have reported recently, some of the most significant changes in the HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule are those relating to Business Associates. The Final Rule extends certain provisions of the HIPAA Security and Privacy Rules directly to Business Associates. Business Associates are now obligated by law to protect and secure protected health information. Business Associates must ask themselves: Have you satisfied your new compliance obligations?
Newly proposed IRS regulations provide interim guidance to charitable hospitals regarding the rules that will govern the community health needs assessments. Presented here by national health care consultant Panos Lykidis, vice president of The Camden Group, is information regarding the major provisions covered under the proposed regulations. Although the rule that every hospital is required to conduct a community health needs assessment remains intact, the IRS’s recent guidance provides clarity on certain key provisions, including the timing of a facility’s assessment, and affords hospitals flexibility with regard to conducting joint assessments.
By The HIPAA/HITECH Compliance Team
The New York Health Care Blog is featuring a series on compliance with the HIPAA Omnibus Rule which became effective on March 26, 2013. Covered entities and business associates must comply with the new provisions by September 23, 2013. Our series is intended to provide you with guidance and education on the Final Rule and the new compliance requirements.
On April 17, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) implemented a revised Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol (the Revised SDP). The Revised SDP refines processes by which health care providers identify, disclose and resolve potential liabilities related to the federal health care programs. The Revised SDP, superseding OIG’s original 1998 Provider Self-Disclosure Protocol and related OIG Open Letters, provides guidance on how providers should conduct internal investigations, quantify pertinent damages and report potential misconduct to appropriate government authorities. A copy of the Revised SDP is available here.
In order to improve the health of the population of the United States, our health care delivery system needs to change from focusing only on the sick and injured to also focusing on improving the health of the population in general. As discussed in the March 20, 2013 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, changes in reimbursement in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) provide for new payment models that focus more on maintaining or improving the health of a population, and less on what services were provided in response to sickness or injuries.
It is no secret that affiliations and consolidations within the health care industry are on the rise. There are a number of drivers behind this trend, including state and federal policies which are encouraging consolidation. One of the most significant concerns facing health care providers as they evaluate potential opportunities for affiliation and consolidation are application of state and federal antitrust laws. Keeping abreast of those laws and the evolving legal guidance is essential to the analysis of any potential affiliation opportunity.
In February 1991, the President of the United States proclaimed March 30th as National Doctors Day in honor of America’s physicians. The proclamation, in part, stated that medicine is more than the application of science and technology. “Medicine is a special calling, and those who have chosen this vocation in order to serve their fellowman understand the tremendous responsibility it entails.”
For the past two years, the Office of Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) has sought to contract with private investigation firms to assist the agency in identifying fraud, waste, and abuse existing within the Medicaid program. However, although OMIG has had such contracts in the past, the agency is experiencing procurement issues. According to the New York State Comptroller’s office, due to errors in the contract bidding process in 2011 no contract has yet been awarded. (See recent Times Union article for more information.)
New clinical data has furthered the medical profession’s understanding of brain death. This new understanding has led to updated Guidelines for Determining Brain Death for use by New York hospitals.
How can communities ensure they have enough primary care physicians to keep their populations healthy and treat them when they are sick? In the past, the federal government was most directly involved in addressing this question by designating certain areas as needing more physicians and through loan forgiveness for physicians practicing in such areas. Recently, state and even local programs have joined the feds in trying to ensure their communities have enough physicians, particularly in primary care. This article discusses a federal, a state and a local program, and offers a note of caution about the multiplicity of programs.