On December 28, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Memorandum (the “Memo”), effective immediately, that represents a clear change to previous guidance on the use of SMS Text Messaging or “texting” by healthcare providers to transmit patient information to other providers that are part of a patient’s care team.
Read MoreThe 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (“2018 MPFS” or “Final Rule”) went into effect on January 1. Marked by new additions to the Telehealth codes and the un-bundling of Remote Patient Monitoring code CPT 99091, the 2018 MPFS provides plenty of opportunities for providers to grow their practice through digital medicine. This article outlines key changes to the new Rule.
Read MoreOn February 21, the Virginia House of Delegates voted 99-0 (1 abstention) to approve HB 1251, a bill that will dramatically expand the state’s medical cannabis laws. The bill was sent to Governor Ralph Northam for signature and – thanks to an emergency clause recommended by the Governor himself – will be effective immediately once he signs. With this bill, doctors will now be able to recommend the use of medical cannabis oil to patients with any diagnosed condition or disease that the doctor determines will benefit from such use.
Read MoreNixon Law Group, a Virginia-based boutique law firm representing clients in the healthcare industry exclusively, announced today that Kaitlyn O’Connor, Esq. has joined the firm as Counsel. Kaitlyn will be based in Nixon Law Group’s Richmond office, but will divide her time between Richmond and Williamsburg.
Read MoreThe Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 contains important changes to federal law related to reimbursement for and use of telemedicine, signaling Congress's continuing confidence in telemedicine's potential to improve care and reduce costs.
Read MoreThe Cures Act is aimed at modernizing and personalizing healthcare by encouraging innovation and streamlining the process for discovery, development, and delivery of new treatments and technologies to those suffering from illness. Importantly, the legislation provides for significant funding to advance these goals, to the tune of $4.8 billion to the National Institutes of Health ("NIH"), $500 million to the Food & Drug Administration ("FDA"), and $1 billion in grants to states for opioid abuse prevention and treatment. This article will provide an overview of key components of the Cures Act and highlight implications for the future of healthcare.
Read MoreJoin NLG Partner Rebecca E. Gwilt and telemedicine vendors, practitioners, and academicians from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky at the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center's (MATRC) 2018 Summit in Hershey, PA this April. Rebecca will be speaking alongside Brian Scarpelli with the Connected Health Initiative during the session: “Deconstructing Reimbursement for Chronic Disease Management”. (Monday April 16 from 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM)
Read MoreOn January 2, 2018, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) issued a Final Rule, amending 42 C.F.R Part 2 (“Part 2”), creating new changes to the federal rules governing confidentiality and disclosures of patient substance use disorder (“SUD”) records for the first time since 1987. Part 2 protects the confidentiality of SUD records, which are subset of protected health information (PHI). This means that these records are subject to HIPAA, but are also protected by Part 2, which contains additional (and more stringent) federal protections. These overlapping standards can make the storage and disclosure of patient records administratively burdensome for healthcare providers, patients and their families. It is also a challenge for technology companies that store, analyze, and transmit patient records on behalf of providers and patients.
Read MoreThis is the latest Nixon Law Group summary in our series on the new Virginia assisted living regulations, which go into effect on February 1, 2018. In this summary, we continue to focus on key changes to the regulations related to staffing.
Read MoreAs of December 22, 2017, the District of Columbia’s first telemedicine regulations take effect. Healthcare providers and healthcare technology vendors interested in or currently engaged in the telemedicine industry in D.C. should be aware of these key provisions in the new regulations.
Read MoreThe revised Virginia assisted living regulations go into effect February 1, 2018. This is the latest summary in Nixon Law Group’s series highlighting key changes under the new regulations. This summary is the first of two that will focus on some of the new staffing requirements, including qualifications, training, and records.
Read MoreTwo Final Rules issued by CMS in November 2017 opened up entirely new avenues for reimbursement of Remote Patient Monitoring services in 2018, creating the potential for better patient outcomes and a boost to a medical practice's bottom line.
Read MoreNLG continues its series of posts on certain key changes in the new Virginia assisted living regulations, scheduled to take effect February 1, 2018. In this installment, we review new requirements for the use of private duty personnel and volunteers. Keep reading THE LATEST from Nixon Law Group more information on the new ALF regulations and other healthcare happenings!
Read MoreEarlier this year, a federally qualified health center, Metro Community Provider Network (“MCPN”) paid a $400,000 HIPAA breach penalty related to a 2011 phishing attack. In this attack, several MCPN employees had their email accounts hacked by a phisher who was able to gain access to about 3,200 individuals’ PHI.
Read MoreIn this third installment of NLG posts summarizing the new Virginia assisted living regulations, we cover notable changes to requirements for Electronic Records and eSignatures, Incident Reporting, and Reports of Abuse, Neglect, or Exploitation. These regulations are scheduled to take effect February 1, 2018, so keep checking back for THE LATEST from Nixon Law Group!
Read MoreThis is the second NLG summary in our series on the revisions to Virginia’s Standards for Licensed Assisted Living Facilities, scheduled to take effect February 1, 2018. The new regulations include changes to the timing for submitting incident reports, a new section addressing electronic records and electronic signatures, substantial revisions to requirements for infection control programs, and changes to the required content of the Disclosure Statement and admission agreements. This summary focuses on changes to Infection Control regulations.
Read MoreFinal regulations that comprehensively revise Virginia’s Standards for Licensed Assisted Living Facilities are scheduled to take effect February 1, 2018. The new regulations include changes to the timing for submitting incident reports, a new section addressing electronic records and electronic signatures, substantial revisions to requirements for infection control programs, and changes to the required content of the Disclosure Statement and admission agreements. This is the first in a series of summaries on key changes under the new assisted living regulations, so stay tuned!
Read MoreThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently accepting requests from medical software developers to participate in a precertification pilot program that is scheduled to begin September 1, 2017. The program is aimed at developing precertification criteria for software companies that would allow approved companies to engage in a streamlined premarket review process for certain digital health products. The FDA will accept up to nine participants for the pilot program, which the Agency says will include both large, established software developers and small startup companies.
Read MoreLast week, CMS issued a Proposed Rule suggesting changes for Year 2 of the Quality Payment Program ("QPP"), established under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015. The changes are aimed at reducing administrative and financial burdens of the QPP on physician practices, particularly small independent practices and practices serving rural communities. Per CMS, the Proposed Rule "continues the slow ramp-up of the Quality Payment Program by establishing special policies for Program Year 2 aimed at encouraging successful participation in the program while reducing burden, reducing the number of clinicians required to participate, and preparing clinicians for the CY 2019 performance period."
Read MoreHealthcare providers are highly sensitive to the risks introduced by recordings in the workplace—not the least of which are potential violations of federal and state laws regarding the privacy of their patients and residents. We have often advised our healthcare clients to enact restrictions on recordings that could introduce unnecessary risk, but a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision, recently upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, indicates that those same restrictions on recordings might, in and of themselves, introduce compliance risk. In its decision, the NLRB had to determine whether no-recording policies maintained by employer Whole Foods were overly broad by prohibiting all recordings by Whole Foods employees without prior management approval. The NLRB’s position seems clear: Policies reasonably read as prohibiting all employee workplace recordings violate the National Labor Relations Act.
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