2016

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Five Public Health Needs for Digital Health Technology

The Digital Health Corner

Digital health technology has seen an incredible growth in the last few years, fueled by a combination of consumerization of wearable technologies, ubiquity of mobile devices, proliferation of technology incubators, attention by government health and regulatory agencies and involvement of large companies heretofore not focused on healthcare. The fastest path to widespread adoption of these technologies is the application to the most pressing public health needs.

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The Title of “Disruptive Physician” Can Ruin Your Professional Career

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. Nobody likes dealing with a nuisance, and disruptive physicians are no exception. Disruptive physicians threaten the morale of medical staff, the safe and orderly operation of a medical practice, as well as a threat to the safety of patients. They can also become expensive liabilities.

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Another Delay in Implementation of the Medicare Part D Prescriber Enrollment Rule

VW Health Care Law Blog

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized a rule in March 2014 that required healthcare providers prescribing medication, where the prescription is paid for by a Medicare Part D plan, to enroll in Medicare as a prescriber. The enforcement date has been delayed several times and was slated to take effect on February 1, … Continue reading Another Delay in Implementation of the Medicare Part D Prescriber Enrollment Rule.

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Five Ways a Good Digital Health Registry Addresses Healthcare System Needs

The Digital Health Corner

Registries have traditionally been viewed as static repositories of data to be reviewed in a summary fashion after a predetermined time period. The expanding need for drilled down relevant data has led to the development of creative sophisticated data analytics technologies. We have witnessed the transformation of registry data collection which now includes curation of relevant raw data ranging from medical images and pathology slides to genomics.

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HIPAA Compliance: Can Your Organization Avoid Costly Government Penalties and Fines?

Colington Consulting was established in 2013 and helps organizations achieve HIPAA compliance and ensures clients stay current with the latest enforcement trends. We provide a full range of HIPAA compliance services and consulting. What separates us from our competitors is our knowledge of HIPAA compliance regulations and their application to each of our client’s particular scenarios and requirements.

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Florida Court Denies Motion to End Patient Wrongful Death Suit Despite Settlement

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 15, 2016, The Florida Supreme Court refused to dismiss a lawsuit over the death of an escaped psychiatric hospital patient for the second time. The suit questions the thin line between medical and ordinary negligence, even though the parties settled their dispute several months ago.

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Whistleblowing Doctor Agrees To Split Fees In $785M Pfizer FCA Deal

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 29, 2016, Dr. William LaCorte, M.D., a whistleblowing physician in Metairie, Louisiana, helped win a $785 million False Claims Act settlement with Pfizer, Inc., one of the World's largest pharmaceutical companies. Dr. LaCorte agreed with his former lawyers on a split of attorney's fees, which resolves one of the several disputes about paying multiple attorneys.

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21 Charged In Extensive Bribery Scheme At Dallas' Forest Park Medical Center

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 1, 2016, founders and investors of a physician-owned health care facility in Dallas, Texas, known as the Forest Park Medical Center, were charged in a bribery and kickback scheme. The range of felony offenses stem from their payment or receipt of roughly $40 million in bribes and kickbacks for referring patients to Forest Park Medical Center (FPMC), according to a federal indictment in Texa

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U.S. Enforcing Law For Equal Insurance Coverage For Mental and Physical Illnesses

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 27, 2016, President Obama made one more major health care initiative as his presidency comes to an end. The administration is stepping up enforcement of laws that require equal insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses. Officials are hoping this decision will help combat an opioid overdose epidemic.

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New York Optometrist Malpractice Suit for Patient's Brain Tumor Dismissed

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 23, 2016, a New York appeals court freed a Madison Avenue Eye Care Ltd. optometrist Paul Kantrowich from a malpractice suit. It was alleged in the suit that Kantrowich negligently failed to diagnose a patient's partial blindness caused by a brain tumor.

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Doctor Indicted In Home Health Medicaid Fraud Suit Hit With 3-Year Prison Sentence

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 7, 2016, Banio Koroma was convicted in a northern Illinois court of falsely certifying elderly patients for in-home care will spend the next three years in prison and be forced to reimburse the government for the $1.5 million in losses he caused, an Illinois federal judge ruled.

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The Big Payoff of Application Analytics

Outdated or absent analytics won’t cut it in today’s data-driven applications – not for your end users, your development team, or your business. That’s what drove the five companies in this e-book to change their approach to analytics. Download this e-book to learn about the unique problems each company faced and how they achieved huge returns beyond expectation by embedding analytics into applications.

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Florida Orthopedic Center Pays Out Millions To End FCA Claims

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 7, 2016, Southeast Orthopedic Specialists (SOS), located in Jacksonville, Florida, agreed to pay $4,488 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by allegedly billing federal health care programs for millions of dollars in unnecessary services.

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South Florida Hospital Agrees To Pay $12 Million To Settle FCA Claims

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 7, 2016, a Miami-area hospital will pay the federal government about $12 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by submitting false claims to federal health care programs for medically unnecessary cardiac procedures, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

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Are Caribbean Medical Schools Under Investigation for USMLE Irregularities?

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. Based on recent potential client consultations we are asking whether the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), perhaps acting through the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), is investigating Caribbean medical schools such as Atlantic University School of Medicine, St.

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Forest Labs Agree to Pay $38 Million Settlement to End Whistle Blower’s FCA Suit

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 15, 2016, Forest Laboratories agreed to pay $38 million to resolve a whistle blower’s False Claims Act (FCA) suit involving allegations that it paid kickbacks to doctors who prescribed three of the company’s drugs, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

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Everything You Wanted to Know About FACIS, but Didn’t Know to Ask

Speaker: Amy Anderson

FACIS® helps organizations mitigate patient and organizational risk. Maintaining compliance and safeguarding against fraud and abuse in today’s changing healthcare landscape can be challenging. Most healthcare organizations screen and monitor providers against the OIG but that’s only ONE of FACIS®’ primary sources. FACIS® pulls data for every taxonomy from the lowest level employee to the highest level licensed professional.

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Medicare Administrative Contractor and Other Contractors Continue to Penalize Medicare Providers Who Do Not Have Correct, Current Address Information on File; This Is One Thing You Absolutely Want to Check up On!

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law We continue to receive calls from physicians and other Medicare providers who have had their Medicare billing privileges revoked or terminated because their address information is not up to date or is incomplete. You must include a physical address at which your business operates so that if the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), the Zone Program Integrity Contractor (ZPIC), or the Recovery Audit

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East Texas Lab Agrees to Pay $3.75 Million to Settle False Claims Suit

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 14, 2016, owners of an East Texas clinical laboratory who overcharged Medicare for falsified driving mileage bills have agreed to pay the US government $3.75 million to settle a whistle blower's False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit. The suit was brought by a former employee, the US attorney’s office announced.

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MetroHealth Medical Center's Former COO Charged In Dental Intricate Program Bribery Scheme

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 25, 2016, previous MetroHealth Medical Center Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Dental Director Edward Hills was charged for running a complex bribery and kickback scheme selling positions in the medical center's residency program. MetroHealth Medical Center is located in Cleveland, Ohio and is an integrated health system that sees around one million patients a year.According to an unsealed

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New Report Reveals Massive $2.4 Billion Marijuana Impact on Colorado Economy

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 27, 2016, the Marijuana Policy Project issued a report for 2015 stating that the state-legal medical marijuana industry had a $2.4 billion economic impact on the Colorado economy. The cannabis industry, the fastest-growing business sector in Colorado, is credited with funding 18,005 direct and ancillary full-time jobs in 2015, according to the report.

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Ensure Continuous Patient Care: How to Avoid Disruptions Due to Ransomware

The industry has seen an increasing pace of ransomware, zero-day, and remote-code execution attacks. Learn how to defend against these against these attacks in this eBook.

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Guilty Pharmacist Admitted To $2.4 Million Prescription Fraud Scheme, Including Using Foreign Drugs

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Walter Beich, an Illinois pharmacist, pled guilty on November 17, 2016 to defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and several private insurers out of $2.4 million by submitting false reimbursement requests for prescriptions he had filled with counterfeit drugs or did not fill at all.

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News For Nursing Homes: Federal Government’s Attempt to Ban Nursing Home Arbitration Blocked

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 7, 2016, a Mississippi federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the federal government’s proposed ban on mandatory arbitration in cases involving nursing homes. The order from US District Judge Michael P. Mills granted a preliminary injunction sought by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and prevents the ban from taking effect on Nov. 28.

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New Jersey Woman Pleas Guilty to $1 Million DNA Testing Medicare Fraud Scheme.

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 1, 2016, Sheila Kahl pled guilty in a New Jersey federal court that she took part in a $1 million Medicare fraud scheme. Kahl admitted to two conspiracy charges deriving from a scheme involving a nonprofit organization that appeared to help seniors navigate through federal benefit programs.

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Legal Access to Marijuana Expands: California Legalizes Recreational Pot & Florida Legalizes Medical Marijuana

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law After looking at the red and blue map of America from the recent presidential election, it may be time to add some green. On November 9, 2016, the movement to legalize marijuana, which has been in the public eye for some time now, took a giant step forward.

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Generative AI for Contracts Is Here: New Tools to Accelerate Drafting and Editing

The emergence of generative AI is reshaping the landscape of contract management, enabling businesses to generate and negotiate legal agreements with greater ease and speed. In this on-demand webinar, Hal Marcus, VP of Product Marketing at Evisort discusses how Evisort's generative AI transforms contract creation and negotiation, empowering legal teams to streamline processes while reducing risk.

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Types of Cases a General Health Law Firm Works On

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law We are often asked by doctors and lawyers alike what types of cases our firm takes. They often mistake the practice of health law as medical malpractice defense. However, this is an incorrect assumption. Asa general health law practice, we concentrate on legal issues and clients involved in the health care industry.

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Don't Detract From Your Professional Reputations. Always Ensure Your Correspondence Looks Professional: 30 Tips (Part 3 of 3)

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law This is Part 3 of a 3 part series on this issue. To see my past blogs on this topic click here for Part 1 and click here for Part 2. I continue with my tips for preparing good, professional correspondence. 19. In longer correspondence, use section headings (in bold or underlined) or headings for each issue, to better organize it.

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What is a Compromised Physician or Health Care Provider?

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Do you know what a "compromised physician" or "compromised health provider" is? It may not be what you think it is. This is a rarely seen term used to refer to physicians, health professionals and health facilities whose identities and billing numbers have been stolen and have been or are being used by crooks to falsely bill Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare and health insurance programs for services never r

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What To Do When Notified Of A ZPIC or Medicare Audit and Site Visit: Checklist

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law When a physician, medical group or other healthcare provider receives a notice of an audit and site visit from Medicare, the Medicare Administrative Carrier (MAC) or the Zone Program Integrity Contractor (ZPIC), things happen fast with little opportunity to prepare.

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Best Practices for Sharing Protected Health Information (PHI)

In this ebook, you will learn about the 18 PHI indicators, the legal requirements and penalties surrounding PHI, and how your healthcare teams should securely exchange this data. Key takeaways from this ebook: Gain confidence in identifying PHI. Acquire practical implementation strategies for exchanging PHI within your organization. Emphasize the importance of using compliant communication tools within healthcare teams.

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Don't Detract From Your Professional Reputations. Always Ensure Your Correspondence Looks Professional: 30 Tips (Part 2 of 3)

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law This is Part 2 of a 3 part series on this issue. You can read Part 1 and Part 3 here. I continue with my tips for preparing good, professional correspondence: 5. Use titles or honorifics. In the "business address" of your correspondence, always use the complete name of the person to whom you are writing (if known) together with that person's honorific or professional title (e.g., Mr., Ms., Dr., Nurse,

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Cuban Lung Cancer Vaccine To Be Followed Up In Clinical Trials In The U.S.

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A lung cancer vaccine that was developed in Havana, Cuba, will be the first such clinical trial to be approved by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for testing in the United States. The approval was announced October 26, 2016, by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo with other officials at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.

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Don't Detract From Your Professional Reputations. Always Ensure Your Correspondence Looks Professional: 30 Tips (Part 1 of 3)

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law I review many letters, e-mails, memoranda, and other types of correspondence prepared by my physician and nurse clients during the course of my legal representation of them. Often this is the result of a dispute with a hospital, a dispute with their peers or the medical staff, a dispute with an insurance company, a law suit filed by a patient, a complaint being investigated by the licensing agency, or

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Prime Healthcare In the Spotlight Again: Hit With Age Discrimination Suit From New Jersey Nurses

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 10, 2016, California-based hospital chain Prime Healthcare Services Inc. (Prime) was slapped with a discrimination lawsuit in New Jersey state court. Three nurses formerlt employed by the company are alleging that they were discriminated against and fired at a New Jersey hospital earlier this year because of their ages.

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HIPAA: Why It Matters to Your Practice

85% of practices are not complying with the government’s HIPAA standards. The large majority of practices are likely trying to protect patients’ information, but they may not be doing all that they need to meet government requirements. Not complying with HIPAA has definite drawbacks, with one major one being massive fines. The government can fine up to 1.5 million dollars for a single HIPAA breach incident - an amount that would put most small practices out of business.