In This Issue:

- DW HEALTHCARE TEAM - RECENT NEWS

- Data Breaches in the Spotlight: Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Sutter Health by Tatiana Melnik

- CMS Continues to Make Efforts to Improve Primary Care by Kevin Bernys

- Dialysis Reimbursement Changes Announced for 2012 by Ralph Levy, Jr.

- Beware of Ambiguous Provisions in Physician Employment Agreements by Ralph Levy, Jr.

- CMS Finalizes Payment Rules for 2012 by Bojan Lazic

An Excerpt from: Data Breaches in the Spotlight: Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Sutter Health

Contrary to what many in the healthcare industry anticipated, the passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) has not generally led to an increased number of actions against healthcare providers who have experienced data breaches. In fact, according to a December Ponemon Institute study, 96% of surveyed healthcare providers say they had at least one breach in the last two years. Further, only 47% of study respondents agreed that their organizations have sufficient policies to address issues related to data breaches.