A proper understanding of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) is completely necessary for healthcare providers and professionals.  It is among the strongest weapons in the government arsenal for enforcing the federal fraud and abuse laws. Along with Stark II (the federal physician anti-referral law), the Anti-Kickback Statute can be and is being used as the basis for an action brought under the Federal False Claims…

The introduction of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) has certainly brought about a major change in the way healthcare is administered in this vast country.

EHR's have evolved in a big way from the time they first came to be used in a moderate way in the healthcare industry a few decades ago. From then on, although the push towards making all health records online has been on -and the US economy saves close to $80 billion a year on paper and other aspects -the rate of penetration of…

Food technology has been growing at a quick pace, having come under the influence of the twin paradigms of the late 20^th century, technology and globalization. As populations keep moving from one part of the world to another in the millions; it is natural that they get influenced by the food behavior of the place to which they move, while also bringing their own influences into it.

It is not just with the itinerant population that food service and movement are paired and…

Medical device training courses for just $10. This is not something you get to hear all that often. Or, is it some kind of joke that is being made to entice the regulatory professional in the medical devices arena? Well, none of these thoughts is true. Medical device training courses for just $10 is a very real offer from GlobalCompliancePanel, a leading provider of…

Used to paying over $250 for a high quality healthcare webinar from a leading expert on the topic from a reputable provider of professional trainings? Let us change your habit! You no longer have to pay this much. So, how much do you think you need to be paying for top healthcare webinars? $200? $150? $100? None of these. All that you have to pay for a top healthcare…

The medical profession is different from most others in one vital aspect: Practitioners of this profession don’t retire. The profession allows the physician to continue for as long as her physical and mental faculties allow her to. The US’ Supreme Court judges too, don’t retire, but theirs is judicial service, during which they are paid by the government, while a…

Most healthcare providers or organizations that are described as Covered Entities by HIPAA, engage vendors as HIPAA Business Associates for carrying out many of their services on their behalf. HIPAA defines a Business Associate as a person or an entity who carries out some or all functions or activities that involve the use or disclosure of Protected Health Information on behalf of, or of providing services to a…

Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) –popularly called Obamacare –came into existence, there has been an exponential increase in the number of physician practice acquisitions. Some of the reasons that can be ascribed for this phenomenon are these:

-        Physician practice acquisitions are an opportunity for healthcare providers in consolidating and…

Stark Law compliance is now more than just a compliance issue. It has grown to become an Enterprise Risk Management matter, if the substantial awards and settlements in recent enforcement actions are anything to go by. For healthcare organizations that develop and implement provider contracts; managing their compliance and enterprise risk by ensuring that…

The fact of about 120 million individuals being affected by HIPAA breaches in 2015 highlights two important points:

1. There is a mad demand for these records in the black market, which is why they are being targeted to this extent. Any wonder that PHI is in greater demand in the black market than even social security and credit cards?
2. There…

It goes without saying that preparing for HIPAA enforcement is of crucial importance to organizations. The reason: Last year saw a spike in the settlement payments ordered by HIPAA. There were as many as seven settlements of a value of over $1 million each. Of these seven, one was for $5.5 million, another was for $3.9 million, and yet another for $2.75 million. These constituted a part of a dozen or so overall resolutions settlements. These results point to the fact that HIPAA is continuing…

Electronic Health Records (EHR) or electronic medical records (EMR), as they are called, are of enormous use in the fields of healthcare and medical sciences. They have a number of features that enable the patient; the medical professional and the healthcare provider have complete and unimaginably easy access to all important records that relate to the patient.

A direct result of the…

The American healthcare industry is a curious mélange. On the one hand, it is the world’s largest industry, with an estimated size of around $ three trillion. It is a system in which any treatment option that one can think of is available to the patient. Yet, it is characterized by a high degree of inefficiency and exorbitant costs. Many treatment options are out of reach of a large number of patients. It also suffers from non-implementation of many best practices that would have ensured a…

When structuring and auditing medical director and administrative agreements; the provisions of the Stark Law need to be taken into careful and full consideration. This is because the Stark Law is the operative law for this kind of arrangement.

Implementation of best practices for negotiating and drafting administrative arrangements on behalf of health systems, hospitals, medical groups and…