Hirschler Fleischer Healthcare Digest - November 2017

11.29.2016

Members of the Hirschler Fleischer Healthcare Industry Team recently authored a series of email alerts for the Hospitals and Health Systems Practice Group of the American Health Lawyers Association. These articles address key issues facing hospitals and health systems, including workplace violence, HIPAA compliance and the growing trend of reference-based pricing. We are pleased to share these articles and invite you to contact us for more information on the topics presented.

OSHA Pursues Health Care Providers for Failing To Protect Employees from Workplace Violence  

By John C. Ivins, Jr.

On July 5, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL's) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Epic Health Services (Epic Health), a national provider of pediatric home health and therapy services, with a willful citation for having "failed to protect employees from life-threatening hazards of workplace violence" and for its failure to provide "an effective workplace violence prevention program," detailed in an OSHA Regional News Release. Read more.

Smaller HIPAA Breaches to Receive Greater OCR Scrutiny

By Jacqueline C. Hedblom

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced in August that it is undertaking to "more widely investigate [HIPAA] breaches affecting fewer than 500 individuals." While OCR's Regional Offices must investigate all breaches involving more than 500 individuals and have typically investigated smaller breaches only as resources permitted, those offices will now place greater emphasis on investigating the root cause of those smaller breaches, which may indicate systemic Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) noncompliance within an entity or the industry as a whole. Read more.

CDM Charges: Hanging in the Balance?

By Emily M. Scott

Heather Bresch, chief executive officer of pharmaceutical company Mylan (manufacturer of EpiPen®), testified last month before a hostile U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee attempting to justify Mylan's drug pricing. The anger and frustration Bresch faced might seem familiar to hospital executives who have struggled to explain list prices in a charge description master (CDM). Read more.

Copyright 2016, American Health Lawyers Association, Washington, DC. Reprint permission granted.