Between April and December 2020, many eligible healthcare providers received or applied for payments from the $175 billion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act Provider Relief Fund (PRF) through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). On Dec.27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Appropriations Act) was signed into law,…
The success of a physician-patient relationship encompasses several important factors, including mutual respect, trust and effective communication. But what can be done when this relationship becomes adversarial and communication breaks down? The American Medical Association has historically pointed out that poor physician-patient communication is directly related to malpractice or discrimination lawsuits. When providers end a…
When the first laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 case was reported by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) on Jan. 22, it was difficult to predict an ensuing global pandemic would last for more than half the year. Approximately one week after the initial CDC report, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) declared…
For many months, the healthcare world has been significantly affected by the swift and perÂvasive effects of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. The virus has severely affected the delivery of patient care by all providers, including those in hospitals and emergency care settings, who grappled with the response to massive influxes of COVID-19 patients, and those…
Ageism is defined as stereoÂtyping, prejudice or discrimination against individuals on the basis of their age. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), 43% of all physicians and surgeons are 55 or older. Specialists are, on average, older than primary care doctors. In addition, around 30% of the current U.S. population is older than 55,…
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990 to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities. This law, and amendments passed in 2008, resulted in rules and regulations opening access to private settings serving the public, including doctors’ offices and medical facilities. The ADA includes a three-pronged definition of disability. If any…
Effective immediately, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has stated it will not impose any noncompliance penalties under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) on physicians using any non-public facing service or audio or video communication technology (e.g., Apple FaceTime, Skype, Facebook Messenger, etc.) for telehealth services. This discretion applies to telehealth…
President Trump announced that CMS will broaden access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CMS published a fact sheet outlining the types of visits that will be covered, the providers eligible to use the expanded services and coding considerations. The ACR is working with other specialty societies and the AMA to provide additional…
In this time of COVID-19, you may be considering ways to deliver routine rheumatologic care via some form of telemedicine. Here are some of the legal considerations.
The Stark law and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) are the U.S. healthcare system’s primary fraud and abuse laws, and highly anticipated proposed reform plans from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) were finally unveiled on Oct. 17, 2019. The proposed reforms would 1) clarify certain requirements…