In order for an accountable care organization to succeed, there must be a workable method for collaboration among the providers. How do providers of care effectively communicate amongst one other? What is the optimum means of memorializing a patient’s medical history and present health status so that all providers of care are basing their decisions
Prosecutors Announce Prescription Drug Initiative
Tragic news events on Long Island have made the public increasingly aware of the threat posed by prescription drug trafficking and abuse. In June 2011, four people were killed by a man robbing a Medford pharmacy for prescription painkillers. On New Year’s Eve, an ATF agent was killed trying to stop a robbery at a
Feds Release HIPAA Audit Protocol
The US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) recently released its HIPAA audit protocol. Audits of HIPAA compliance were mandated by the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act, which amended many parts of HIPAA and included breach notification requirements.
The OCR conducted a number of
NYS Legislature Passes Prescription Drug Reform Package
The recent increase of prescription drug abuse led both chambers of the New York State Legislature to pass the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing (I-STOP) Act on June 11, 2012. The legislation seeks to tighten control over certain controlled substances in an effort to decrease criminal diversion and abuse of such prescription drugs which can
Affordable Care Act: Bundling Payments to Control Costs
Now that the Affordable Care Act has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, the requirement to control costs is critical. One thing we can learn from the experience of near universal coverage in Massachusetts is that providing access to more citizens without containing costs is a recipe for disaster. In 2006 Massachusetts achieved coverage
Physician Shareholders Take Notice: New York Court Upholds Complaint for Common Law Dissolution
Physicians with a controlling interest in a New York professional corporation should be mindful of a minority shareholder’s common law right to judicial dissolution. In a recent posting on our New York Business Divorce Blog, Peter A. Mahler describes a recent ruling by Westchester County Commercial Division Justice Alan D. Scheinkman in the case
Mixed Decision in Anesthesiology Practice Shareholder Dispute
Peter A. Mahler, author of our sister blog New York Business Divorce, posted an excellent analysis of a recent case involving a shareholder dispute among members of an anesthesia group.
Key pieces of advice from Mahler:
- Draft clear termination and exit provisions in shareholder and employment agreements;
- Arbitration clauses can produce quicker results
Hospital-Physician Contracts Lead to Stark Violation
The recent decision in United States ex. rel. Drakeford v. Tuomey Healthcare Sys. Inc., No. 10-1819 (4th Cir. Mar. 30, 2012) provides a sobering reminder that hospital-physician contracts should be drafted carefully in order to avoid containing any provisions that could inadvertently result in Stark law liability.
Subject to certain limited exceptions, the federal
Medicare Publishes 60-day Repayment Rule
The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) imposed an obligation upon Medicare providers, including physicians, hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies, to report and return any overpayments they receive within 60 days of identification of the overpayment. Failure to do so could result in substantial penalties to the provider under the False
Bonus Compensation under the Stark Law
Employment arrangements between hospitals and physicians often include productivity-based compensation. This can be in the form of bonuses or adjustments to salary. A common measure of productivity is the physician’s work Relative Value Units (“RVUs”). Such productivity measures are intended to motivate newly-hired physicians and to support the fairness of compensation paid and earned.
The