Florida’s Non-Compete Statute
Non-compete agreements or employment contracts containing restrictive covenants are a common hiring practice for physicians and some other types of medical professionals. Essentially, these agreements are designed to prevent a doctor from leaving and then competing against you, taking all your patients with them. Florida has a specific non-compete statute that relates to non-compete agreements […]
Fraud Alert: Genetic Testing Scam
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General is alerting the public about a fraud scheme involving genetic testing. Scammers are offering Medicare beneficiaries cheek swabs for genetic testing to obtain their Medicare information for identity theft or fraudulent billing purposes. Fraudsters are targeting beneficiaries through telemarketing calls, booths at public […]
Should Doctors Allow Patients to Record Their Conversations?
According to the Pew Research Center, 77 percent of all U.S. adults own smart phones. With the ubiquity of these devices and their convenient audio-visual recording capabilities, it is no surprise that patients are increasingly requesting to record clinical visits, and, in some cases, secretly recording conversations with their doctors. Should doctors and hospitals be concerned that the microphone might […]
The New Tax Act May Be Complicated, But Don’t Let That Scare You from Significant Tax Savings
It is stunning how few people realize the significance of one provision of the new Tax Jobs and Cuts Act of 2017, which became effective earlier this year. Perhaps the reason for this is that it is conceptually complicated, but that is my problem; it should not be yours. Under the new Tax Act, independent contractors and […]
Texting of Patient Information among Healthcare Providers
It has been reported that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has communicated with at least two hospitals, stating that texting is unacceptable, even through secure text messaging applications, due to concerns about the privacy and security of protected health information (“PHI”) and how to record texts in a patient’s medical record pursuant […]
Three Individuals Charged in $1 Billion Medicare Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme
The owner of more than 30 Miami-area skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, a hospital administrator and a physician’s assistant were charged with conspiracy, obstruction, money laundering and health care fraud in connection with a $1 billion scheme involving numerous Miami-based health care providers. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. […]
JOHNS HOPKINS’ PHYSICIAN SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CASE TO COST $190 MILLION
This past July, Johns Hopkins Hospital agreed to a $190 million settlement with more than 8,000 patients of Dr. Nikita Levy, an employed gynecologist of the facility, who covertly photographed and videotaped women he examined with a pen-style camera. The settlement resolves one of the largest cases of sexual misconduct by a physician in the […]
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights BULLETIN: HIPAA Privacy in Emergency Situations
In light of the Ebola outbreak and other events, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), is providing a bulletin to ensure that HIPAA covered entities and their business associates are aware of the ways in which patient information may be shared under the HIPAA Privacy Rule in […]
HHS Issues Final Exchange Rules Under Health Reform
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]On March 12, 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule on Affordable Health Insurance Exchanges, which combines policies from two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) published last summer. One rule, published on July 15, 2011, outlined a proposed framework to enable states to build Affordable Insurance Exchanges (Exchanges), […]