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- OIG Releases Work Plan for 2009
by Clay J. Countryman On October 1, 2008, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its 2009 Work Plan. The OIG’s Work Plan describes the initiatives and priorities of the OIG for the 2009 fiscal year. The OIG will address these initiatives through audits, investigations, inspections, and health care industry guidance documents, as well as enforcement action under federal, civil and criminal statutes. The following are some of the important 2009 OIG initiatives for hospitals, physicians, and other health care providers:2009 Hospital Initiatives: • Provider-Based Status for Inpatient and Outpatient Facilities: The OIG will determine the potential impact on both the Medicare program and its beneficiaries of hospitals improperly claiming provider-based status for inpatient and outpatient facilities. • Hospital Ownership of Physician Practices: The OIG will determine whether hospitals have met the Federal requirements to obtain .... - Federal Court of Appeals Absolves Louisiana Hospital of Liability in Failure to Report Physician Impairment While on the Medical Staff
by Linda G. Rodrigue In May of this year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit absolved Lakeview Regional Medical Center (“Lakeview”) of any liability, and reversed a damage award against it, in a lawsuit that had been brought against Lakeview and a physician group practice by Kadlec Medical Center, a hospital located in the state of Washington. Kadlec sued Lakeview and a physician practice for over $8 million in damages, on the grounds that Kadlec was forced to settle a malpractice lawsuit due to the negligence of an anesthesiologist who was impaired at the time of the malpractice. Kadlec’s claim was that Lakeview and the physician group practice knew of the physician’s impairment when he was on the medical staff of Lakeview, were asked about his performance before he was credentialed at Kadlec, and did not disclose the prior impairment and disciplinary action that had resulted.The Fifth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that the .... - GAO Issues Report on HHS Privacy Plan for Electronic Health Information
by Clay J. Countryman In a report issued September 17, 2008, the GAO commented that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made substantial strides in devising a national plan for protecting the privacy of patients’ electronic personal health information, but that HHS still needs to do more to ensure key privacy principles are fully addressed. The GAO’s remarks were contained in a report issued to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of a follow-up study by the GAO regarding the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT’s efforts to insure the privacy of electronic personal health information exchange within a nationwide health information network.According to the report, the objective of the GAO was to provide an update on the department’s efforts to define and implement an overall privacy approach. In January 2007, the GAO had reported on the activities of HHS and the National Coordinator for HIT to ....
