The Readmore 2014

Yesterday the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued two regulations laying the foundation for improving quality, efficiency and safety through meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology.The two regulations are part of...

Interesting Tweet HIPAA Breach story coming out of Mississippi involving Governor Haley Barbour. The incident involved a response to Governor Barbour's tweet by a University Medical Center employee.Ves Dimov, M.D. at Clinical Cases and Images Blog posts about the story - Single tweet by hospital employee to Mississippi Governor allegedly violates...

On March 18, 2010 I will be speaking on Medical Records Law at a seminar in Charleston, West Virginia. The seminar is sponsored by Lorman Educational Services. Joining me for the day long seminar will be three very knowledgeable health care colleagues:Michael T. Harmon, MPA, CIPP/G, Compliance Specialist for the West Virginia Mutual Insurance Company,...

The West Virginia State Bar announced today that the Office of Disciplinary Counsel has a new website. Also, the West Virginia State Bar has redesigned its website design..The new Office of Disciplinary Counsel website contains information about the disciplinary complaint process...

Farewell and congratulations go out to fellow health law blogger, Mark Herrmann, (formerly) co-author of the Drug and Device Law Blog and author of The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law.In Mark's Farewell Post he announced that he is leaving Jones Day after 20 years to become the VP and Chief Counsel - Litigation at Aon Corporation. Fellow co-author,...

A quick thanks to Elizabeth Damewood-Gaucher author of the Esse Diem Blog for including the Health Care Law Blog on her short list of The Best Blogs You're Not Reading Yet.I would agree with her list and glad that am a regular reader of 4 out of the 5. All produce great content and cover distinct niche areas. For example, the Rainmaking Blog focuses...

These days I don't always get around to religiously reading Blawg Review every week - but I'm glad I took the time to read Ron Coleman's Blawg Review #242 hosted at Likelihood of Confusion.In the past I often submitted blog posts to the editor - but have gotten out of the habit. Ron's post reminded me of the importance of keeping this blogging carnival...

The Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee issued JEAC Opinion 2009-20 on November 19, 2009, indicating that judges may not add lawyers who may appear before the judge as "friends" on a social networking site, nor may judges permit such lawyers to add the judges as their "friend".However, the Committee did not entirely ban judges from using social...

The AMANews reports that the Michigan Supreme Court is examining whether the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) preempts state law to allow a defendant physician in a medical liability case to interview the plaintiff/patient's other treating physicians.The history and docket information on the case before the Michigan...

iHealthBeat reports on the release of a new report prepared by CCRC Actuaries for the West Virginia Health Care Authority.The full report is available via the West Virginians for Affordable Health Care website and is titled, Health Care Financing in the State of West Virginia: An analysis and Projection of the Current System and Potential Transformations,...

Over the next couple of months the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be hosting the Exploring Privacy: A Roundtable Services.The roundtable discussions are day-long public roundtable discussions to explore the privacy challenges posed by the vast array of 21st century technology...

I love the creative and mind opening nature of Twitter tweets. Simple 140 character thoughts, questions, queries, etc.As a lawyer who deals with pages, reams, volumes, boxes, rooms of written information on a daily basis I'm often amazed (and pleased) by the depth of concepts that can be expressed through 140 characters.Example from today, @SusannahFox's...

Last year Paul Levy, Matthew Holt and Alexandra Drane asked me to participate in the Engage With Grace Thanksgiving Blog Rally. My post last year describes the Engage with Grace project and tells my personal story of why end of life care is important for all of us to discuss with...

Today the West Virginia Health Information Network released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a statewide Health Information Exchange. More information, including the deadlines, bidder worksheets and a full copy of the RFP are available on the WVHIN website.Following are sections from the RFP that provide a general overview of the proposed West Virginia...

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has launched a second blog called the Health IT Buzz Blog.Just a few weeks ago ONC announced the new Federal Advisory Committee Blog (FACA Blog).The initial post by Dr. David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, National...

Today I participated in the first call of the American Health Lawyers Association's Task Force on Electronic Health Records and Legal Liability.The task force will focus its efforts on the legal liabilities associated with Electronic Health Records (EHR), Health Information Exchanges (HIE) and Personal Health Records (PHR).The group is being led by...

I was recently in my hometown of New Martinsville visiting my dad, a retired family physician. When I arrived he had waiting for me a copy of one of my grandfather's medical records from the 1930s. My grandfather, Dr. Albert Coffield, practiced rural medicine in Wetzel County, West...

Below is a visual of the top 500 words used in HR 3962: Affordable Health Care for America Act. Since most people (including many of our representatives in Washington) haven't read all 1,990 pages of the Health Care Reform Bill, I thought a visual aid might be helpful.I had been...

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) has launched a new blog called the Federal Advisory Committee Blog (FACA Blog).The initial post by Judy Sparrow discusses that the FACA Blog will be uses in a spirit of transparency and collaboration...

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) unveiled a website for sharing information and updates specific to West Virginia about the H1N1 Flu also known as Swine Flu. The website has information for prevention, schools, businesses, parents and providers.The new West Virginia H1N1 (Swine) Flu Resource Center can be found at...

On October 30, 2009, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the HIPAA Administrative Simplification: Enforcement Interim Final Rule, 45 CFR Part 160 (74 Federal Register 56123, October 30, 2009).This new rule was developed and adopted by HHS to conform the enforcement regulations under HIPAA to the revisions made...

Members of the U.S. House of Representative submitted an October 1, 2009 letter of concern to Secretary Sebelius and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) concerning inclusion of a "harm standard" in the recently released(August 24, 2009) Interim Final Rule - Breach Notification for Unsecured Protected Health Information (45 CFR Part 160...

Have you had a health data security breach? Do you know what a health data breach is? Are you required to notify individuals impacted by the breach? Do you have to notify federal agencies of such breach?Read on for more information regarding the Office for Civil Right (OCR) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations requiring health care providers...

Over the last few years I have been involved in Create West Virginia, an organization affiliated with Vision Shared whose mission to create and stimulate new economy growth and empower West Virginians to grow creative communities in West Virginia. Communities centered on innovation,...

Over the past several months I have been involved with a group in developing West Virginia's statewide strategic plan for health information technology.The final draft of the West Virginia Health Information Technology Statewide Strategic Plan, September 2009 is now available for review and comment. Additional comments and feedback on the strategic...

This morning I finally got around to reading the article by David Goldhill, CEO of the Game Show Network, in the Atlantic. How American Health Care Killed My Father is a thought provoking look at the failure of our current health care system.On the eve of President Obama's speech to Congress on health care I hope he and his advisors have taken time...

The Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director for the Office for Civil Rights, Robinsue Frohboese, has designated Office for Civil Rights Regional Managers in each of the HHS Regional Offices to serve as the Regional Office Privacy Advisors. On July 27, 2009, Secretary Sebelius authorized the Director of the Office for Civil Rights to carry out...

Dan Roam at the Back of the Napkin Blog sums up the current health care reform effort in this four part health care series, Healthcare Napkins All. Great back of the napkin summary of health reform (actually insurance reform).Thanks to Jay Parkinson MD for the tip.Healthcare Napkins AllView more documents from Dan Roa...

The DHHS Office of Inspector General has issued the Fiscal Year 2008 State Medicaid Fraud Control Units Annual Report. The report covers FY 2008 (October 1, 2007 - September 30, 2008.The summary of the report provides background on the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) grant program, the number of states participating, the amounts recovered and number...

Dawn Miller of the Charleston Gazette highlights the ongoing Fit West Virginia (#FitWV) effort ongoing via Twitter in her op-ed piece, West Virginians try to tip scales on obesity.The idea was born back on West Virginia Day as a result of Jason Keeling asking his blog readers to discuss solutions to West Virginia's problems in a post, West Virginia:...