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Long Term Care & Senior Living Blog

We offer updates on national on regional issues such as malpractice defense, regulatory compliance, labor and employment issues and estate planning.

Long Term Care & Senior Living Blog
June 23, 2014

Happy HIPAA Monday - $800,000 Reason to Take HIPAA Seriously

Today, the HHS Press office released notice of a settlement of $800,000 with Parkview Health System, Inc. (Parkview) for potential HIPAA violations. This settlement relates to a complaint going back to September 2008, when Parkview received between 5,000-8,000 patient records from a retiring physician. Parkview received the medical records as part of the physician’s transition to retirement, while Parkview decided whether to purchase some of the physician’s practice.

Long Term Care & Senior Living Blog
November 17, 2013

The Power of Metadata

In an era where long-term care facilities are increasingly implementing the use of electronic medical records, facilities need to be aware of the issues that might come into play during litigation.

Long Term Care & Senior Living Blog
September 11, 2013

Missouri Legislative Update

Last December Missouri House Representative Bill White introduced HB 100, titled the Adult Health Care Consent Act. This bill attempts to specify the order of priority of persons entitled to make health care decisions for an individual who has been certified as physically and cognitively unable to consent to his or her own health care.

Long Term Care & Senior Living Blog
June 27, 2013

Missouri Physicians Lobby to Restore Cap on Non-Economic Damages

As reported by Missouri Lawyers Weekly, “a parade of lab-coated doctors” appeared before the Missouri State Senate and House of Representatives in early February 2013 to argue that the recent Missouri Supreme Court decision in Watts v. Cox Medical Center will reverse years of declining malpractice insurance rates. In Watts, the Court held in a 4-3 decision that the statutory cap of $350,000 on noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering is unconstitutional because it violates the plaintiff’s right to a trial by jury. The doctors argued that unlimited noneconomic damages will harm the availability and affordability of health care in Missouri and that restoring the cap will help to control costs and keep doctors in Missouri.