Enforcement of Electronic Health Records
Technology in Healthcare
Tax Developments Affecting Health Care Organizations and Investor-Owned Hospital Companies
Information is power, but the consequences of mismanaging information in the health care industry can be severe. Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems provide comprehensive real-time patient medical information in an...more
On January 23, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia declared sections of the 2013 Omnibus Rule unlawful. The Court found that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) impermissibly...more
On January 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a notice (the OCR Notice) regarding individuals’ right of access to health records in response to a January 23, 2020...more
On December 12, 2019, OIG released a report finding that CMS made an estimated $94 million in incorrect Medicare incentive payments to acute-care hospitals for using electronic health records (EHRs) over an audit period from...more
A mind-boggling example of administrative overreach, i.e. HHS’s issuance of overreaching regulations (in 2013) and sub-regulatory Guidance (in 2016), which impose a $22 billion lifetime regulatory cost ($1.52 billion per year...more
In a June 12, 2017 report entitled, Medicare Paid Hundreds of Millions in Electronic Health Record Incentive Payments That Did Not Comply With Federal Requirements, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of...more
There are inherent risks in any vendor relationship. In the healthcare industry, with myriad regulatory pitfalls, the stakes can be even higher. Several customers of the cloud-based electronic health record (EHR) software...more
On June 12, 2017 the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report entitled Medicare Paid Hundreds of Millions in Electronic Health Record Incentive Payments That Did Not Comply...more
On June 12, 2017, OIG released a report on Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record (EHR) incentive payments, claiming that between May 2011 and June 2014, CMS paid an estimated $729 million to eligible professionals...more
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ("HITECH Act") established financial incentives under Medicare and Medicaid for eligible health care providers that adopt, implement, and demonstrate use...more
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced on May 31, 2017, a $155 million settlement of its lawsuit alleging False Claims Act (“FCA”) and Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) violations committed by eClinicalWorks (“eCW”), one of...more
On May 31, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $155 million settlement with eClinical Works (ECW), a nationally-known electronic health records (EHR) software vendor. The settlement arises out of a lawsuit,...more
FDA emphasizes interoperability and outlines other best practices for effectively using EHR data in FDA-regulated studies. Acknowledging the increased use of electronic health records (EHRs) in clinical studies, and the...more
On March 7, 2016, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that security breaches of individual electronic health records (“EHRs”) do not violate the HITECH Act and cannot support False Claims Act allegations. ...more
Documentation in Electronic Health Records: - Nursing homes lag behind other providers in electronic health record system adoption - Of 472 nursing homes in New York, there was a 7.7 percent increase in EHR adoption...more
Meaningful Use (MU) is again at the forefront of many hospital leaders’ minds, as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule in early April that aligns Stage 1 and Stage 2 incentives and...more
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently released Version 2.0 of the Guide to Privacy and Security of Electronic...more
This is the fourth and final post in our series on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Pub.L. No. 114-10. We’ve previously covered the repeal of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) in our April 20th post,...more
In a scathing report released last Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) accused hospitals and software vendors of preventing the sharing of health information in order...more
On March 20, 2015, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS“) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC“) each released their much-anticipated proposed rules for Stage 3 of...more
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) and subsequent regulations have changed several aspects of compliance with HIPAA, including the way covered entities should think about...more
The passage of the ARRA HITECH Act in 2009 fostered significant advancements in patient engagement and care coordination by incentivizing primarily physical health providers and acute care hospitals to make smarter use of...more
Community Health Systems, Inc. (the “Company”), one of the largest hospital organizations in the country, announced via a public filing (Form 8K) made yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Report”) that the...more
Last week, the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released two reports required by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act: (i) the Annual Report to Congress on Breaches of Unsecured...more
Starting in 2015, eligible physicians and hospitals participating in the Medicare Electronic Health Records Incentive Program who do not adopt "meaningful" use" certified electronic health record (EHR) technology will no...more