In December of 2018, the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners (“The Board”), approved adoption of an amendment to the rules governing the practice of telemedicine. The Board published a Notice of Intent for the amendment in April of 2019 in the Louisiana register with the amended Rule becoming final on August 20, 2019. Prior
Health Law
CMS Posts Revisions to Voluntary Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol
By the Kean Miller Health Law Team
On March 27, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted revisions to the Voluntary Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol (SRDP), which provides a process for the disclosure of potential or actual violations of the federal physician self-referral law (commonly known as the Stark Law). In an attempt…
OCR Settlement Highlights the Importance of Timely Breach Notification
By the Kean Miller Health Law Team
On January 9, 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced its first HIPAA settlement arising from a failure to provide timely breach notification. Presence Health Network (Presence), one of the largest health care systems in Illinois, agreed to pay $475,000…
Standing Orders Permitted for the Distribution of Naloxone
Recognizing the global problem of abuse and addiction to opioids, the Louisiana Legislature and the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy have enacted legislation and regulations to provide for the prescribing, dispensing and administration of Naloxone, an opioid antagonist.
In 2014, the Louisiana Legislature passed legislation authorizing “first responders” (peace officers, firefighters, EMS practitioners) to receive a…
Some (But Not All) ACA Deadlines Extended for 2016 Reporting Year
On Friday, November 18, 2016, the IRS announced an automatic extension of the Affordable Care Act deadlines for distributing the 1094-B/1095-B and 1094-C/1095-C forms to employees. This relief gives applicable employers an additional 30 days (from January 31, 2017 to March 2, 2017) to deliver these forms to employees. This relief only applies for the…
Louisiana Updates Telemedicine Rules
During the 2016 regular Legislative session, the Louisiana Legislature amended and reenacted several statutes relative to the practice of telemedicine. Under the prior legislation, a physician was required to conduct an in-person patient history and physical exam before engaging in a telemedicine encounter. Now, a physician who is either licensed in the state of Louisiana…
OIG Proposes to Expand the Authority of Medicaid Fraud Control Units
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) published a Proposed Rule in the September 20, 2016 Federal Register that would change the structure and expand the authority of State Medicaid Fraud Control Units (“MFCU”). The OIG wants to change the Federal participation in the costs attributable to establishing and…
Get Your Medications In Sync
The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy promulgated a Final Rule on September 20, 2016 giving Louisiana licensed pharmacists the authority to perform medication synchronization and refill consolidation services for their patients. Under the Rule, the pharmacist may adjust the dispensing quantity and refill schedule for multiple medications so that all of the patient’s medications can be…
Louisiana Department of Health Issues Emergency Rules Impacting Pediatric Day Health Care Facilities
The Louisiana Department of Health issued two Emergency Rules in the September 20, 2016 Louisiana Register amending licensing standards governing Pediatric Day Health Care Facilities in an effort to avoid a budget deficit in the medical assistance program. The Emergency Rules revised the PDHC’s Program description and criteria to provide that in order to receive…
HHS OCR: Ransomware Attacks Usually Qualify as a HIPAA Breach
Ransomware is here to stay. According to a recent United States Government interagency report, on average, there have been approximately 4,000 daily ransomware attacks since early 2016, which is a 300 percent increase from the approximately 1,000 daily ransomware attacks reported in 2015.[1] A significant percentage of those affected by ransomware have been healthcare…