Media Mentions
2008
Terese A. Mosher Beluris was quoted in the May issue of Healthcare Risk Management in an article entitled, "13 Hospital Workers Fired for Snooping in Britney Spears' Medical Records." The article discusses concerns associated with privacy breaches within the healthcare system. "The same mandates that require hospitals to store patients' files electronically in order to facilitate patient care also enable any person entitled to access a file to post it on MySpace in an instant," Ms. Beluris said. "Would Pentagon-level technology limit the risk? Perhaps," she added. "However, no hospital I know has a Pentagon-sized budget."
Terese A. Mosher Beluris, Health, HIPAA, HIPAA Privacy Solutions
Amy Gordon was quoted in the April 21 issue of Business Insurance in an article about how companies that have been using financial incentives or other inducements as part of their wellness programs must reconsider those incentives in light of recent federal guidelines clarifying what constitutes health-related discrimination in employee benefit plans. "Just satisfying HIPAA is not enough. There are a lot of other legal responsibilities,'' said Ms. Gordon.
Amy M. Gordon, Employee Benefits & Pensions, HIPAA, Welfare Benefit Plans
Stephen W. Bernstein was quoted in the February 2008 issue of Briefings on HIPAA in an article regarding healthcare organizations facing the prospect of preemptive, third-party compliance evaluations because PricewaterhouseCoopers has contracted with CMS to conduct security audits of covered entities. "Because the scrutiny rule's implementation specifications are generally more technical and more apparently to employees than the privacy requirements, expect more feedback about security policies and procedures from staff members than from patients," Mr. Bernstein said.
Stephen W. Bernstein, Health, HIPAA
2007
John Healey and Ned Milenkovich were quoted in the May 14 issue of Decision Health in an article regarding providing an instructional pamphlet on safety to everyone in your practice or facility who uses a laptop or other portable device to perform duties involving protected health information. “It could be used to show compliance with the requirement to ensure a covered entity’s workforce complies with HIPAA security measures,” said Mr. Milencovich. “It can be used as an element of your training program, which is required by HIPAA,” Mr. Healey added.
John D. Healey, Ned Milenkovich PharmD, Health, HIPAA
Stephen Bernstein was mentioned in the April 13 edition of Government Health IT on American Health Information Community's apparent considering of applying HIPAA to Regional Health Information Organizations and questioning the appropriateness of such an extension. "It might be difficult to determine which portions of the HIPAA rules apply, given the variations among exchange organizations," Mr. Bernstein said.
Stephen W. Bernstein, Government Strategies, Health, HIPAA
Ned Milenkovich was quoted in the February 12 issue of Decision Health in an article outlining the new HIPAA security guidance published by the government to secure electronic protected health information (EPHI). "If your policies on portable devices include additional safeguards, you should add those provisions to your confidentiality agreement," Mr. Milencovich said.
Ned Milenkovich PharmD, Health, HIPAA
John Healey was quoted in the February 12 issue of Decision Health in an article outlining the new HIPAA security guidance published by the government to secure electronic protected health information (EPHI). "A confidentiality agreement covering portable devices doesn't take the place of policies and procedures required by HIPAA, such as training, which should be more robust and detailed than the agreement itself," Mr. Healey said.
Ned Milenkovich was quoted in the January 8 issue of Decision Health in an article outlining the final HIPAA non-discrimination rules, which outline the requirements that plans must follow to comply with the non-discrimination provisions of HIPAA. In response to HIPAA compliance predictions, Mr. Milenkovich was quoted saying, "HIPAA complaints will maintain a brisk pace and steady pressure will continue to build on the federal government to begin compliance enforcement." He added, "HIPAA will be used as a tool to make federal health care dollars be spent more efficiently and to capture any fraud/abuse perpetrators by using an electronic form to track compliance."
Ned Milenkovich PharmD, Health, HIPAA
2005
Marilyn Lamar was quoted in the July 25 issue of The Deal regarding the implications of making medical records available online, specifically in reference to HIPAA regulations.
Amy Gordon was quoted in the February issue of CFO Magazine in regard to company wellness programs and how it relates to employee and health privacy issues. "With the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act bona fide wellness program guidance still in proposed form, there have currently been no published cases focusing on discrimination issues with regard to employer-sponsored workplace wellness programs," commented Ms. Gordon. She continued by saying these cases could take years to show up in the court system.
Amy M. Gordon, Employee Benefits & Pensions, Health, HIPAA
2003
Stephen Bernstein was quoted in The Wall Street Journal on April 24 in an article addressing how HIPAA may be getting in the way of health care. Mr. Bernstein commented that many doctors don't realize that HIPAA actually provides "a fair degree of flexibility to share health information with the patient, share it with other providers for treatment, share it with health plans for payment, and share it with other parties subject to certain agreements."
Stephen W. Bernstein, Health, HIPAA
Stephen Bernstein was quoted in the Wall Street Journal on April 24 in an article addressing how HIPAA may be getting in the way of health care. Mr. Bernstein commented that many doctors don't realize that HIPAA actually provides "a fair degree of flexibility to share health information with the patient, share it with other providers for treatment, share it with health plans for payment, and share it with other parties subject to certain agreements."
Stephen W. Bernstein, Health, HIPAA
Stephen Bernstein was quoted in the April 14 issue of Lawyers Weekly USA regarding how lawyers must change their ways to conform with HIPAA. One issue lawyers have to deal with is the process by which medical records are obtained and shared. Mr. Bernstein commented that depending on the jurisdiction, state privacy laws could afford the patient more or less access to records than HIPAA does, which could partially preempt the federal regulations, and attorneys need to be comfortable with the interplay. "HIPAA creates a floor - a minimum level of privacy," he mentioned.
Stephen W. Bernstein, Health, HIPAA
Stephen Bernstein was quoted in the April 1 issue of The Washington Post in an article addressing the use of e-mail by doctors. The article reported on the increased usage of e-mail as a communication tool for doctors and their patients, and it described some of the pros and cons of this new method of communication, including privacy issues. Mr. Bernstein commented on how HIPAA compliance will call for the need of doctors to ask for patients' authorization before sending e-mail.
Stephen W. Bernstein, Health, HIPAA
Stephen Bernstein was quoted in the April 1 issue of The Washington Post in an article addressing the use of e-mail by doctors. The article reported on the increased usage of e-mail as a communication tool for doctors and their patients, and it described some of the pros and cons of this new method of communication, including privacy issues. Mr. Bernstein commented on how HIPAA compliance will call for the need of doctors to ask for patients' authorization before sending e-mail.
Stephen W. Bernstein, Health, HIPAA
Stephen Bernstein was quoted in the February 2003 issue of PharmaVOICE, in an article entitled "Piecing Together the Privacy Puzzle," regarding the effect of HIPAA on the pharmaceutical industry.
Stephen W. Bernstein, Health, HIPAA
2002
Stephen Bernstein was interviewed regarding medical privacy on Here & Now, a National Public Radio program that aired on July 3. In the interview, which addressed HIPAA, Mr. Bernstein commented that the new HIPAA regulations are intended to and should help foster a more complete dialogue between patients and their health care providers about how health information is received, used and re-disclosed, and establish a baseline for consumer expectations regarding the privacy of their medical information.
Stephen W. Bernstein, Health, HIPAA
McDermott Will & Emery was featured in the May 28 issue of Healthcare Review in regard to its polling results from a previously held HIPAA webcast seminar.
Stephen Bernstein was quoted in the May 7 issue of InfoWorld Daily News in regard to how biotechnology companies are preparing for the HIPAA deadline. According to Mr. Bernstein HIPAA has not been a top priority. "For the most part, biotechnology companies are not covered entities, but there area number of hidden traps and pitfalls, where some companies may be covered entities or hybrids," he commented.
Stephen W. Bernstein, Health, HIPAA, Life Sciences & Medical Devices
Stephen Bernstein was quoted in the May 2002 issue of Health Information Compliance Alert regarding the impact of HIPAA on clinical labs and temporary employees.
