The Readmore 2014

Google Flu Trends have launched an Experimental Flu Trends for Mexico as a result of the ongoing concern over the current swine flue outbreak. The experimental model for Mexico shows estimates on possible flu activity in the various states in Mexico. Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate possible flu activity in near real-time.Additional...

Next month I will be co-presenting on an American Health Lawyer Association Teleconference on the topic of HIPAA Privacy Regulation Fundamentals - An Introductory Course.The teleconference is scheduled for May 13, 2009, 1:00 - 2:30 pm EST. My co-presenter is Rebecca L. Williams...

Yesterday West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller introduced "The Health Information Technology Public Utility Act of 2009"(Senate Bill 890) to facilitate the nationwide adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) though an "open source" public utility model.A copy of Senate Bill 890 is available on Thomas (GPO PDF version).  According to the...

Today Microsoft Corporation and Mayo Clinic announced a new consumer online health service called Mayo Clinic Health Manager, build on the HealthVault platform.The press release states that Mayo Clinic Health Manager provides individuals "a place to store medical information and receive real-time individualized health guidance and recommendations...

Congratulations to my partners, Rick Jones and David Givens for successfully defending Charleston Area Medical Center, Inc. before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in the matter of Wahi v. Charleston Area Medical Center, Inc., et al., Slip Op. No. 06-2162 (4th Cir. April 10, 2009). Rick argued the case against well known lawyer,...

The Economist looks in on Health 2.0 in the article, Health 2.0: How far can interactive digital medicine go?Highlights for me:Quote by Neil Seeman who thinks Health 2.0 is important "because it reinvents how we identify opinion leaders and exploit disruptive innovation."Steve Case, founder of America Online, who likens the current state of digital...

On April 17, 2009, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) issued guidance on the technology requirements to render protected health information (PHI) "unusable, unreadable or indecipherable to unauthorized individuals, as required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) which is a part of...

Yesterday, April 16, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission released its proposed Health Breach Notification Rule for Vendors of Personal Health Records (PHRs) and Electronic Health Information.The official title of the proposed rule is: 16. C.F.R. Part 318: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Request for Public Comments Concerning Proposed Health Breach...

I was interviewed for an article appearing in the March 19 2009, edition of Neurology Today. The article, When Moving Records and Practices, Know Your Legal Obligations (pdf version), was written by Elizabeth Stump and discusses the current legal requirements and recommendations regarding medical record retention, release of information, storage and...

On April 9, 2009, the West Virginia Legislature sent Senate Bill 321 to Governor Manchin for signature (see strikethru/underline Committee Substitute version). Senate Bill 321 makes substantive changes to the current certificate of need law in West Virginia overseen by the West Virginia Health Care Authority.The certificate of need law requires health...

A welcome to another West Virginia lawyer blogger, Kevin Levine, who is blogging now at DIY Music Mogul. His blog is dedicated to assisting entrepreneurial musical artists and songwriters with timely and relevant information about music law and business.Kevin is an entertainment and intellectual property lawyer with Kay Casto & Chaney, PLLC in...

Yesterday, April 8, 2009, President Obama signed an executive order formally creating a new White House Office of Health Reform.The Washington Post provide additional information, including the complete text of the Executive Order and that former Clinton administration official, Nancy-Ann DeParle (White House bio) will oversee the office.The full...