Are there still folks who have so little awareness of HIPAA that they could go out and dump patient records like these folks? Unfortunately, even five years after this event, we hear current stories of patient records blowing out of dumpsters. Look for fines of this type to escalate rapidly, just as other HIPAA fines … Read more
Federal district court judge DJ Hellman has thrown out EMTALA allegations against Milford Regional Medical Center in Massachusetts on pretrial motions for summary judgment filed by the hospital. Case facts: Plaintiff alleges that on October 19, 2009 she presented to the hospital via ambulance complaining of severe pain in her abdomen and shooting pains in … Read more
With the loss of laptops, smart phones, tablets, and USB drives being among the top sources of privacy breaches, healthcare providers should be aware of a recent federal court ruling that drove a $3 million privacy settlement. The federal appellate court ruling against AVmed — a medical insurance company — allowed claims involving negligence and … Read more
As Russian troops occupy another Eastern European country, our Secretary of Defense proposes a budget that will slash the military to pre-World War II levels.
I am a student of history and watched it during the Cold War, but you can catch up on everything important with this 8 minute tribute to our troops. Cutting the military and reducing military benefits is profoundly wrong. Failing to support our injured veterans is obscene.
This is off-topic, but I was reminded today in preparing for a legislative hearing on a healthcare issue that folks have completely forgotten that this entire issue was resolved in a court case in 1998 with the exact same company involved — but current legislators apparently have forgotten it or were not in office then. … Read more
Bill Aimed At Saving Volunteer Fire Departments and EMS Systems Ready For Floor Action: The Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act (H.R. 3970), would exempt volunteer emergency services workers from the ACA’s definition and prevent the closure of critical emergency services across the country. Without passage of the bill, volunteer department would have to … Read more
In a Colorado hospital citation, CMS cited the practice of listing on-call by group names and answering service numbers. The on-call list of physicians and specialists for the time period in question were [sic] reviewed and revealed the on-call list for urology and cardiology did not contain the name of the physician on call each … Read more
FILE: 11-006 DATE: June 30, 2011 STATE: California TAG: A2404 TITLE: On-Call Physicians ALLEGED VIOLATION: Based on interview and record review, the facility failed to provide care within the facility’s specialized capabilities to Patient 1 when Physician A, who was on call for gynecological (GYN) care, refused to respond to the emergency room (ER) to … Read more
FILE: 11-005 DATE: February 17, 2011 STATE: California TAG: A2411 TITLE: Recipient Hospital Responsibilities ALLEGED VIOLATION: Based on interview and record review, the facility did not accept an appropriate transfer of a patient with an emergency medical condition even though the facility had the specialized capabilities, which included an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) physician on … Read more