Answers To Diseases

Martin Memorial too mum: Hospital staff violated privacy of shark victim, an article from the Palm Beach Post. The article highlights the impact ubiquitous mobile devices with cameras are having on our society and the potential liability risks associated with the use/misuse of these devices by health care employees.
The article indicates that various hospital employees [...]

A warm welcome to fellow AHLA member and health law blogger, Kathie McDonald-McClure.
I just ran across her blog, HITECH Law Blog. She focuses the blog on health information technology, privacy and security and the blog was named after the HITECH Act. Looks like a great addition to the health law blogosphere.

Today Jody Joiner and I presented at the AHLA Hospitals and Health Systems Institute on the use of social media by hospitals and health care providers. We provided an overview of social media use by hospitals and health care providers, discussed the pros/cons of using social media in the health care environment, presented case studies [...]

Recently I was interviewed for a story focused on the changes to the HIPAA civil penalty enforcement under the HITECH Act. The article is titled, Willful Neglect Is Difficult to Pin Down, but Can Result in Enormous HIPAA Penalties. The article discusses the definition and interpretation of “willful neglect” under the HIPAA penalty provisions. Health [...]

Health and Human Services Secretary Sebelius and the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, David Blumenthal, announced the HITECH funding under the ARRA for State Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) and Regional Extension Center (RECs) across the country.
The White House Press Release provides a detailed list of HIEs and RECs receiving grants. Inormation is also available [...]

The Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the Judicial Conference of the United States has issued a memo regarding Juror Use of Electronic Communication Technologies.
At its December 2009 meeting, the Judicial Conference Committee endorsed a set of suggested jury instructions that federal district judges should consider using to help deter jurors from using [...]

The West Virginia Health Care Authority announced that the capital expenditure minimum for calendar year 2010 is $2,767,500.
The capital expenditure minimum is typically used by the Authority when reviewing whether or not certain health relate projects require certificate of need review.

My health law colleague, David Harlow, covers the news today on the first HIPAA enforcement action taken by a state attorney general under the new HITECH provision of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
David’s post, HIPAA enforcement by state attorney general: The shape of things to come, provides a good summary of the [...]

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has made available a compendium of reports which detail variations in state health information law, business practices and policy related to privacy and security of health information and the electronic exchange of health information.
The reports were developed in 2009 as a part of the [...]

Over the weekend I received an email from Todd Bergstrom, Executive Editor of the West Virginia Law Review announcing a “Call for Articles” for an upcoming issue of the West Virginia Law Review focusing on health care.
Great to see the law review staff looking at the social disparities in access and outcomes that exist in [...]