Healthcare Risk Management – September 1, 2016
September 1, 2016
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Hospital Faces OCR Complaint for Gag Order on Abortion
The case raises important questions about how much a healthcare employer can restrict employees’ private activities.
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Complaint Alleges Effort to Silence Doctor
In the Office for Civil Rights complaint filed by Diane J. Horvath-Cosper, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist and fellow at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, she outlines what she says was an insistence by hospital administrators to stop her from talking publicly about abortion.
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Church Amendment Protects Abortion Views
The Church Amendment that a physician is citing in her claims that a hospital restricted her speech on abortion normally is invoked by healthcare providers on the other side of the controversial issue, says John E. Petite, JD, an attorney with the law firm Greensfelder in St. Louis.
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Caution: Patients’ Printed Records May Not Match the Electronic Health Record
Most plaintiffs’ attorneys now request audit trails immediately with the first contact for e-discovery, and risk managers often groan when they think of the work involved. However, there is a reason to seek the audit trail for your own benefit: It might show more exculpatory evidence than a paper printout of the same file.
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You Must Respond Carefully When You Are Served With a Subpoena
Responding to subpoenas is a routine task for risk managers and general counsel, but just because it is routine doesn’t mean it should be taken lightly. There are right and wrong ways to respond, and your actions at this early stage of potential litigation can affect the outcome later.
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Search Warrants Don’t Mean All Access for Police
Search warrants can be more intimidating than subpoenas because law enforcement officials show up at the facility and demand access to certain areas and documents. That event can lead some risk managers or other hospital leaders just to glance at the search warrant and wave the police officers in.
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Doctor Challenges Medical Errors ‘Hysteria’
A report calling medical errors the third leading cause of death has serious flaws that make that conclusion invalid, according to a physician. He says the report contributes to an irrational hysteria over medical errors.
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Largest HIPAA Settlement Ever for Advocate
The largest ever settlement of alleged violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was made with the Chicago-based Advocate Health Care Network, one of the largest health systems in the country, which has agreed to pay $5.55 million and adopt a corrective action plan.
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Largest Data Breach of 2016 Hits Banner Health
The largest data breach so far in 2016 happened recently when hackers obtained information on 3.7 million patients and others from the computer servers of Banner Health, based in Phoenix.
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‘Widespread Vulnerabilities’ Bring $2.7M Settlement
Oregon Health & Science University in Portland has agreed to settle potential Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violations with a $2.7 million fine after an investigation by the Office for Civil Rights found “widespread and diverse problems” at OHSU.
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HIPAA Risk Analysis Should Be Thorough And Helpful for Hospital’s Compliance
A risk analysis is fundamental to any HIPAA compliance program, but conducting one effectively can be a challenge. Too often, the risk analysis is a perfunctory task that lets you check off a requirement, when it should be a valuable tool that drives the rest of your compliance efforts.
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First Settlement with Business Associate Shows Focus of Office for Civil Rights
For the first time, the Office for Civil Rights has settled potential HIPAA violations with a business associate, and that settlement sheds light on how the government is assessing compliance.
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OCR: Ransomware Attack Is Usually a Data Breach
With ransomware attacks a continuing threat to hospitals and health systems, the Office for Civil Rights is warning that, in addition to all the other headaches, such incidents could be considered a data breach under HIPAA.
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Worker Fired in NFL Player Incident Sues Hospital
A secretary fired from Jackson Health System in Miami for accessing the medical record of New York Giants’ football player Jason Pierre-Paul is suing Miami-Dade County’s public hospital network. She claims she did not access the patient record and that the health system defamed and libeled her.
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Excessive Prescriptions Result in $17.6M Award In Compensatory and Punitive Damages
In 2008, a 45-year-old man’s primary care physician began prescribing powerful and highly addictive pain pills for lower-back pain. The pain pills, known as opioids, are prescribed at alarming levels for millions of patients in the United States, which results in frequent addiction and serious side effects.
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Failure to Recognize Post-surgery Problem Caused Internal Bleeding Yields $4.3M Verdict
In 2010, a 57-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital to undergo surgery to permanently stitch her stomach into the correct anatomical position after a hiatal hernia caused her stomach to partially invade her chest cavity.