On March 25, 2020, we reported that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had extended the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (“PREP”) Act to provide immunity to “Covered Persons” providing “Covered Countermeasures” against COVID-19.  As we noted in our April 17 update to the same article, the Office of the General Counsel for HHS issued an omnibus advisory opinion on April 14 that addressed common questions and concerns about the scope of PREP…

A panel of health care industry leaders and subject matter experts met to discuss more accessible, convenient, and reliable patient care and the lifting of behavioral health’s stigma, hosted by HLTH on October 29, 2020 as part of the HLTH Matters GoLive Webinar Series. HLTH (pronounced “health”) is a community of leaders, innovators, and pioneers of the health industry and span across the entire health ecosystem; payers, providers, employers, investors, startups, pharma, policymakers, and…

On October 29, 2020 the United States Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury (the Departments) issued a final rule entitled Transparency in Coverage (the Rule). The Rule continues on the Trump Administration’s goal of increasing the availability and transparency of health care price information to consumers and others. It follows on the President’s Executive Order on Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First, issued June 24,…

“The COVID Public Health Emergency did not create the telehealth industry; it simply accelerated its inevitable growth.” – Nathaniel Lacktman, Partner and Chair of Foley & Lardner’s Telemedicine & Digital Health Industry Team  A panel of telehealth thought leaders met to discuss How Telehealth Transformed Health Care Delivery and What the Future Holds, hosted by Moss Adams at its 2020 Health Care Executive Webcast Series: Consequences of a Crisis & Revolutionizing Care. The discussion…

On October 28, 2020, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a joint warning that they have “credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers.” The warning comes on the heels of what may be the earliest reports of a causal relationship between a ransomware attack and the death of…

The Georgia Composite Medical Board recently finalized a new amendment to its telemedicine practice standards. The purpose of the amendment was to address the use of technology as it relates to telemedicine, and clarify the Board’s position on the use of peripherals when conducting a patient examination via telemedicine. The amendment is effective September 28, 2020. The Board made a slight change to Georgia Rules and Regulations Section 360-3-.07(3)(d) (“Practice Through Electronic or Other Such…

On October 8th, the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association (MHA) held a webinar regarding the information blocking aspects of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Final Rule under the 21st Century Cures Act. The Cures Act required ONC to develop regulations to improve interoperability and patient access to electronic health information, and deter information blocking. Information blocking is a practice that is likely to interfere with, prevent, or materially…