Recent HIPAA breach settlement ties for the $5.5 million record
May 17, 2017
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The not-for-profit Florida Memorial Healthcare System (MHS) agreed to pay $5.5 million for a HIPAA breach.
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Category: Healthcare Legal News and Advocacy
News and commentary on developments in healthcare law. Articles track legislative, regulatory, and enforcement changes affecting independent practices, along with the firm’s advocacy on issues important to healthcare providers.
Canadian osteopathic school under fire for unauthorized medical practice
May 8, 2017
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The charges arose after undercover investigators with the physicians’ college posed as patients seeking treatment at an osteopathic school-run clinic. In an interview, CEO school president Phillippe Druelle said that the school’s clinic neither gives injections nor prescribes pills and that the charges are baseless.
Suicide rates soar among female providers
April 26, 2017
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“The rate of suicide among women employed in any health profession was higher than for women in other occupations; the difference was statistically significant for women employed as nurses or medical practitioners.”
How Food Deserts Hurt Your Patients’ Health
April 23, 2017
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A food desert is a geographic area which lacks fresh fruit, vegetables, and other whole foods. These arise from an absence of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers, and the United States is full of them (1). This problem is linked to obesity, poor diet choices, and hunger – all things that detrimentally affect the health of our communities and, thus, the conditions that show up in our clients’ clinics each day.
Pain-management training lacking among healthcare providers
April 17, 2017
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Because of the opioid epidemic that’s drawn national attention, medical schools are now grappling with the need to increase their pain management education. While the American Medical Association has encouraged that pain be dropped as the fifth vital sign (a “solution” that Erin’s been exploring with physical therapists while speaking at recent physical therapy conferences), elected officials are anxious for more active steps.
More Money, More Problems: Costlier hospital stays don’t yield better results
April 7, 2017
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High-spending hospitals can’t just start spending less while maintaining the same outcomes. Slicing spending without a plan for protecting patient health would spell disaster. To cut spending, they would need to implement strategic and complex approaches that insulate their outcomes from their expenditures – a tricky proposal.
Newbie doctors “allowed” to work 28-hours straight
March 23, 2017
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The current 16-hour cap occasionally prevents doctors from seeing a surgery through from beginning to end, which may disrupt patient care continuity, and undermine medical team unity. These – proponents of the 28-hour shift argue – would be ameliorated by the increase.
Why You Shouldn’t Serve Alcohol to Your Patients
March 17, 2017
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Boozing before a procedure may impair a patient’s ability to knowingly consent to treatment, which presents liability and legal concerns.
How Provider Bias Harms Women in Pain
February 23, 2017
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A female ER patient cannot bear the burden of a provider’s biases. It’s crucial that providers – especially those in the emergency or urgent clinical settings – critically examine each patient, without regard for the patient’s gender. But what happens when these biases are unconscious (which they undoubtedly are in most circumstances)?
How Sex Disparities in Clinical Drug Trials Hurt Women
February 11, 2017
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Although women consume more pharmaceuticals than men, they comprise a minority of clinical trial test subjects and are at twice the risk for adverse drug reactions. Those who advocate for scientific accountability of sex differences in drug studies argue that the pharmaceutical industry lacks a commitment to women’s safety.