Articles and Blogs

Hall Render has recently announced that Todd A. Nova and Thomas D. Shrack have been named shareholders. Todd A. Nova (Milwaukee office) earned his law degree in 2004 from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  His practice areas include regulatory, reimbursement, technology and corporate issues for health care clients including hospitals, health care systems,... READ MORE

Hall Render is pleased to announce associate attorney Bertina C. Barnes, J.D., has joined the firm’s Indianapolis office. Barnes practices in Hall Render’s Business/Tax practice group where she focuses on information technology, security, privacy and clinical research matters.  Her practice includes the drafting and negotiation of agreements for software development and licensing, IT consulting... READ MORE

On Monday, November 5, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it had reached a settlement with a Missouri-based health system (“System”) arising from financial relationships between the System and some of its employed physicians.  Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the System agreed to pay more than $9.3 million to... READ MORE

After an election that saw President Obama cruise to victory and Congressman Pete Stark lose his seat in Congress after 40 years, the Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) will live on, though not without some changes.  Focus also shifts to the states and Congress, which must address numerous health care-related issues when it returns for... READ MORE

National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week is this week, November 4-10.  In 1992, President George Bush signed Congressional House Joint Resolution #399 proclaiming the first week in November as National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week. Since then, the National Association Medical Staff Services (NAMSS) has partnered with hospitals, MCOs, doctor’s offices, university health systems... READ MORE

I recently conducted a webinar with Teramedica on Establishing an Effective Records Management and Data Retention Program: Health Care Industry Considerations. This one-hour webinar helps health care organizations gain tactical insight into the essential legal and business requirements of establishing an effective records management and data retention program. Patient data storage and data access... READ MORE

Employer’s Social Media Policy and Savings Clause Are Okay For the past two years, private employers have been struggling to understand just what the NLRB expects of them when it comes to Social Media Policies (among other things – confidential investigations; employment-at-will; off-duty access).  The NLRB General Counsel has even issued three separate Memos... READ MORE

Several southeastern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) collaborated under the direction of ONC to analyze the country’s ability to respond to disasters through the use of Health Information Exchange (HIE).  This initiative, called the Southeast Regional HIT-HIE Collaboration (SERCH) project,  focused on the development of a strategic plan for sharing health information among states... READ MORE

One Last Chance or Set Up to Fail? Faced with an underperforming employee, an employer will often give the employee a chance to prove himself one last time before termination.  Sometimes that approach can backfire if not done carefully – especially if the employee can claim some legal protection – like using FMLA. READ MORE

CMS Issues 2013 Hospital Outpatient Rule Final Rule On November 1, 2012, CMS finalized the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (“OPPS”) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (“ASC”) rule.  The 2013 final rule updates Medicare payment policies and rates for hospital outpatient and ASC services beginning January 1, 2013. READ MORE