Category: Legal Watch
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Two-Minute Primer on Electronic Prescription of Controlled Substances
The contents of a recent Drug Enforcement Administration policy statement on electronic prescriptions for controlled substances sound simple enough—you can use a mobile device for EPCS if it meets the latest Federal Information Processing Standards security requirements (FIPS 140-2), and you can use it as a “hard token” if it is separate from the device…
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What Can Physicians Charge for Medical Records?
The State of Alabama Board of Medical Examiners amended its rules that govern the fees physicians may charge to provide patients with copies of their medical records.2 The rules are set forth in Section 540-X-9-.10(2) of the Alabama Administrative Code, and the new rules became effective April 13, 2018. Here are the key dos and…
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HHS Seeks Comments on Easing Stark Law Burdens
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has requested public input on how the physician self-referral law, or Stark Law, may be interfering with care coordination. To help accelerate the transformation to a value-based system that includes care coordination, HHS has launched a Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care. The Regulatory Sprint is focused on identifying…
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Medical Association Receives Board of Midwifery Rule Withdrawal
The Medical Association joined with the Alabama Hospital Association, the Alabama Board of Nursing, the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Alabama Chapter-American Academy of Pediatrics recently offered comment to the Alabama Board of Midwifery’s proposed rules concerning the passage of Act No. 2017-282 in May 2017 (regarding licensed midwives). The Medical Association requested the…
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Trends In False Claims Lawsuits
Trends in False Claims Lawsuits Since the Ruling in Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar on June 16, 2016 Generally, the False Claims Act (“FCA”) imposes liability on any person who “knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval to the United States; [or] knowingly makes,…
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You Need to Know When to Hold ’em and Know When to Merge ’em
With uncertainty in the health care markets and the growing demands on medical practice infrastructure, many physicians are thinking that merging their practice with another might be a worthwhile idea. A merger might be advisable under some circumstances, problematic in other cases, and potentially illegal in certain instances. We will leave the legal issues to…
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Alabama SB39: Another Shot in the Opioid Battle
On March 28, 2018, Alabama Senate Bill 39 was sent to Governor Ivey’s desk for signature. SB39 introduces stiffer penalties related to fentanyl possession and distribution. It amounts to a local effort forming part of a nationwide, multi-pronged response to the opioid epidemic that has plagued the country in recent years. While this bill is…
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Alabama Legislature Considers State Law on Cybersecurity
At the time of the writing of this article, Alabama is one step closer to having a law on the books related to cybersecurity. As one of only two states without a state data breach law, Alabama is considering legislation that requires certain entities, “covered entities,” to report to state agencies and affected individuals when…
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Twenty States File Lawsuit against Government for the Affordable Care Act
Twenty states, including Alabama, have formed a coalition to file a lawsuit against the government claiming that the Affordable Care Act is now unconstitutional. According to the lawsuit, the states are claiming that since the GOP eliminated the tax penalty associated with the individual mandate, ObamaCare itself is no longer constitutional. The Tax Cuts and…
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Just What the Doctor Ordered: An Alabama Perspective on the Opioid Epidemic
Sometimes, Alabama is No. 1. In 2012, Alabama was the highest per capita painkiller prescribing state, with an average of 143 prescriptions written per 100 people — almost three times the rate of the lowest prescribing state.1 Alabama has been home to other No. 1s, too. In 2012, Dr. Shelinder Aggarwal, a former Huntsville-area pain…