Year: 2018
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CMS Updates Open Payments Data
On January 17, CMS updated the Open Payments dataset to reflect changes to the data that took place since the last publication on June 30, 2017. CMS updates the Open Payments data at least once annually to include updates from disputes and other data corrections made since the initial publication of the data. The refreshed…
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Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council Issues Formal Report
MONTGOMERY — Co-chairs of the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council, Attorney General Steve Marshall, Commissioner Lynn Beshear of the Alabama Department of Mental Health, and Acting State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris, announced the issuance of the Council’s formal report of its findings. The Council was created in August 2017 by an executive order…
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Breach Notification…Who, How, When?
February is typically a very busy month for health care compliance professionals because the majority of breaches are required to be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the first 60 days of the calendar year following the breach. However, the type of breach determines the applicable deadline so it is…
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Possible Government Shutdown with CHIP in the Balance?
Friday, Jan. 19: Government shutdowns are rare, with the last shutdown in 2013 that lasted 17 days. Even though the U.S. House passed legislation that would fund CHIP for six more years, the Senate may not approve the measure. In fact, Congress is facing the possibility of another government shutdown, which could leave health care…
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ADPH to Hold Special Flu Shot Clinics
MONTGOMERY — With influenza activity levels continuing to increase across the state, including several deaths attributed to the deaths, the Alabama Department of Public Health is conducting free flu shot clinics for Alabama residents. The vaccine is available for both children and adults and there will be no charge for the vaccination during these Influenza Vaccination…
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New Research Shows Americans with Mental Illness use Opioids at Alarming Levels
More than half of all opioid medications distributed each year in the United States are prescribed to adults with mental illness — patients diagnosed with depression and anxiety — according to new research by Dartmouth-Hitchcock and the University of Michigan. The study, published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Board of…
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As CHIP Funding Lags, Doctors And Parents Scramble To Cover Kids’ Needs
Dr. Mahendra Patel, a pediatric cancer doctor, has begun giving away medications to some of his patients, determined not to disrupt their treatments for serious illnesses like leukemia, should Congress fail to come up with renewed funding for a key children’s health program now hostage to partisan politics. In his 35 years of practice, Patel,…
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Changes in Patient Access
Physicians have struggled with the impact of the Affordable Care Act since its passage in 2010, but there is a new, more powerful and insidious change underway which will have dramatic impact on all medical practices. The free enterprise system together with an emergence of the Millennial generation has begun to break medicine of some…
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Alabama Physician Health Program Announces Reorganization
The Alabama Physician Health Program, the Medical Association’s confidential resource for physicians and other medical professionals with potentially impairing conditions or illnesses, recently announced a reorganization and new staff to better protect the health, safety and welfare of those it serves. The APHP provides confidential consultation and support to physicians, physician’s assistants, residents and medical…
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Flu Outbreak Causes State of Public Health Emergency
An outbreak of the influenza virus has prompted Gov. Kay Ivey to issue a “State Public Health Emergency” for the state of Alabama. The virus poses a high threat of widespread exposure to an infectious agent that poses a risk of substantial harm to a large number of people, according to the proclamation issued by…