OCR Settlement Emphasizes Importance of Patient Access to Information
September 10, 2019
On September 9, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced that Bayfront Health – St. Petersburg, a 480-bed Florida hospital (the “Hospital”), paid $85,000 to settle an investigation regarding the Hospital’s failure to provide one patient with timely access to her medical records. In its press release, …
New York Shield Act Modifies Breach Notification Requirements
August 21, 2019
On October 23, 2019, the Stop Hacks and Improve Electric Data Security (“SHIELD”) Act goes into effect and significantly modifies the existing New York State breach notification requirements, including the addition of new requirements for covered entities (e.g., all health care providers and health plans) to report HIPAA breaches to the New York State …
August 14, 2019
On Monday, August 12, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law sweeping new workplace-harassment protections. The bill, approved by the State Legislature in June 2019, comes just months after the State’s enactment of a statute that mandates annual sexual harassment training for all employers in the State. In response to what the Governor described …
PROSECUTORIAL AUTHORITY OF THE JUSTICE CENTER RESTRICTED
July 23, 2019
On July 11, 2019, the Appellate Division, Third Department, in a series of three criminal cases, significantly limited the authority of the NYS Justice Center for the Protection of People With Special Needs (“JC”) Special Prosecutor. In the lead case, People v. Hodgdon, the Third Department held that the JC Special Prosecutor did not …
July 19, 2019
The New York State Department of Health (“DOH”) has revised its ambulatory surgery center (“ASC”) Certificate of Need Policy to require a closer review of the financial impact that a new freestanding ASC can have on the continued availability of essential community health care services in rural areas. Previously, DOH would only recommend disapproval …