Health Law Monitor

Federal Agency Issues New Guidance on Substance Use Disorder Confidentiality Requirements

April 21, 2021

SAMHSA’s Recent Statement on 42 C.F.R. Part 2

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (“SAMHSA”) issued a statement on April 9, 2021 regarding 42 C.F.R. Part 2 (commonly referred to as “Part 2”). In its statement, SAMSHA asserted that it intends to publish amendments to the Part 2 regulations later this year, and affirmed that the current Part 2 regulations (including the…

Dental Practice Social Media Post Results in Fine by Regulators

October 16, 2019

In a recent resolution agreement between Elite Dental Associates (“Elite”), a dental practice in Dallas, Texas, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), the OCR alleged that Elite impermissibly disclosed patients' protected health information (“PHI”) in its responses to patient reviews on the social media site Yelp. As part of its investigation,…

Ex-Parte Contacts with Treating Physicians in Kentucky

June 24, 2015

The Kentucky Supreme Court rendered an opinion on June 11, 2015, establishing the law in Kentucky on ex parte communications with a party’s non-expert treating physician, i.e. interviewing the Plaintiff’s treating physicians in advance of a deposition.  In Caldwell v. Hon. A.C. McKay Chauvin, the plaintiff in an underlying medical negligence action sought a writ from the Kentucky…

OIG and Industry Leaders Release New Compliance Guidance for Health Care Boards

May 5, 2015

On April 20, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”), in collaboration with the American Health Lawyers Association (“AHLA”), the Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors (“AHIA”) and the Health Care Compliance Association (“HCCA”) released new compliance guidance for health care boards entitled “Practical Guidance for Health Care Governing…