King and Ballow - Nashville

03/08/10 - Corporate Owners Held Not Personally Liable For Wrongful Termination
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

Corporate owners of an occupational and physical therapy clinic in Houston, Texas were not personally liable for wrongful termination of an employee who claims she was fired for refusing to perform an illegal act.

02/22/10 - Sales Rep Exempt from Overtime Pay
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

Employers, who seek to avoid overtime costs for employees who promote, but do not sell, pharmaceuticals, may find a potential option under the administrative duties exemption.

02/22/10 - California DLSE Issues Opinion Allowing Incremental Deductions from Leave Balances for Exempt Employees
by Paul Duvall, K&B Healthcare Practice Member

California employers have new options to consider in addressing exempt employees who take off work for less than a full day. Health care providers who have limited resources in time and money for their practice may find these options beneficial.

02/02/10 - WebLINE Alert:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR'S OSHA PROPOSES RECORDKEEPING CHANGE TO IMPROVE ILLNESS DATA

Media Release from OSHA, US Department of Labor:
OSHA proposes to revise its recordkeeping regulation to restore a column to the OSHA 300 Log to record work- related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). The 2001 Recordkeeping final regulation included an MSD column, which was deleted before the regulation became effective. This proposed rule would require a check mark in the MSD column, instead of the column currently marked, for an MSD. Proposed comments must be received by March 15.

For more information, go to this link:
http://osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_
table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=17124 target="_blank"

For a copy of OSHA's new proposed rule and how to submit comments to it, go to this link:
http://osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_
table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=21314 target="_blank"

01/22/10 - Medical Center Faces Liability for Provider Faces Class Action for Not Paying Overtime to IT Staff
by Paul Duvall, K&B Healthcare Practice Member

Another case adds to an emerging trend of class actions targeting health care providers for alleged violations of state and federal wage and hour laws. This time, a California hospital allegedly misclassified its information technology (IT) employees as exempt from overtime pay.

01/22/10 - WebLINE Alert:
TENNESSEE OFFICIALS ANNOUNCE GUIDEBOOK NOW AVAILABLE TO ASSIST NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Media Release from the State of Tennessee Attorney General Robert E. Cooper, Jr.
For more information, click here or go to this link:
http://tn.gov/attorneygeneral/press/2010/story/pr10-03.pdf

For a copy of “What Every Board Member and Officer Should Know,” a reference tool for board members and officers of Tennessee nonprofits, click here
or go to this link:
http://tn.gov/attorneygeneral/nonprofit/nonprofitguidebook.pdf

01/18/10 - Requirement to E-Verify: Does It Apply to Your Practice?
by Bruce E. Buchanan, K&B Healthcare Practice Member

Are health care providers who provide services to participants of Medicare or the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) considered subcontractors for the purposes of FAR EVerify? If so, those providers would have to E-Verify their new employees and employees providing services in performance of those contracts with the federally-based insurers.

01/15/10 - WebLINE Alert:
SEN. LEAHY AND 18 OTHERS URGE REPEAL OF ANTITRUST EXEMPTION FOR HEALTH INSURANCE

Media Release: Office of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) -
For more information, click here or
go to this link:
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/201001/011310c.html

01/14/10 - Hospital Network Prevails in Antitrust Claim by Competing Physician-Owned Facility
by Mo Syed, K&B Healthcare Practice Member

The largest hospital company in Arkansas and its health-insurance company affiliate succeeded in dismissing allegations made by a physician-owned cardiology competitor that the hospital and insurance company conspired to restrain trade and monopolize the market for cardiology services for privately insured patients.

01/08/10 - New Rule Proposes Definition for Meaningful Use
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

Health care providers who adopt meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology by 2011 may receive significant federal incentives: up to $63,750 over five years for qualifying Medicaid use, or up to $44,000 over five years for qualifying Medicare use.

12/15/09 - WebLINE Alert:
H1N1 FLU VACCINE MANUFACTURER VOLUNTARILY RECALLS DOSES

Media Release from the State of Tennessee Department of Health -
For more information, click here or
go to this link: http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/4305

12/11/09 - WebLINE Alert:
TENNESSEE OFFERS H1N1 VACCINE TO EVERYONE

Media Release from the State of Tennessee Department of Health -
For more information, click here or
go to this link: http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/4200

12/10/09 - Alleged Race Based Hiring Criteria Supports Discrimination Claim
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

A health care services company for correctional facilities lost its attempt to dismiss a physician’s discrimination claim for failure to retain him as medical director at a Jackson, Mississippi correctional facility. The physician alleges a company representative told him he could not be hired or retained for the position because he is white.

>>Read the full article...

12/09/09 - Medical Center Faces Liability for Alleged Disability Discrimination by Physician Independent Contractor
by Paul Duvall, K&B Healthcare Practice Member

An independent contractor anesthesiologist may proceed with his discrimination claim against a Phoenix medical center for not accommodating his operating room and call schedules due to his disability from sickle cell anemia.

11/24/09 - Doctors Entitled to Immunity for Revoking Surgeon’s Privileges
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

Physicians, who served on a peer review panel for a Rhode Island hospital, were entitled to immunity from liability under the Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) for their role in determining a surgeon’s privileges should be revoked.

11/23/09 - Is the New “EEO is the Law” Poster on Display at Your Office?
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

The employment provisions in the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) went into effect over this weekend. This requires most providers to ensure either the new “EEO is the Law” poster or the supplement is prominently displayed at their office. Click on the link at the end of this post to print the supplement for immediate posting and to order the new poster.

11/19/09 - Preparation for Employee Issues with Flu and H1N1 Virus
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

The proportion of deaths due to the H1N1 continues to rise along with the number of outpatient visits and 46 states report geographic widespread activity. This information implicates a continuing concern regarding the H1N1 virus (a type of influenza responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic) and emphasizes the importance of maintaining efforts to prepare and protect employees. This post addresses factors providers should consider towards that goal.

10/22/09 -Respirator Protection for H1N1 Influenza
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

Providers should confirm now that they have a sufficient supply of N95 disposable respirators, established protocols on priority of use to ensure sufficient supply, and completed medical evaluations, fit testing, and training for all employees who may need to use respirators for protection against the 2009 H1N1 virus.

10/14/09 - Risk of Employee Access to Patient Information and Red Flags Rule Compliance
by Mo Syed, K&B Healthcare Practice Member

Health care providers are increasingly discovering that information technology is a double edged sword, providing great benefits, but also raising the potential for violations of privacy and identity theft by their own employees. All providers must assess the risk of identity theft posed by their use of information technology by November 1, 2009, when the Federal Trade Commission’s Red Flags Rule (RFR) goes into effect.

10/05/09 - OSHA Focusing on Recordkeeping of Employee Injuries & Illnesses
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced on October 1, 2009 that it will begin a national emphasis program (NEP) to assess the accuracy of injury and illness data recorded by employers.

9/17/09 - New Law Requires Web-based Claim Preadjudication Tool for Providers
by Chris Lowe, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Member

Next year, health insurance companies will be required by Tennessee law to set up web sites accessible to providers, with an online preadjudication tool that can be used by providers for certain claims.

9/10/09 - No EMTALA Violation Without Transfer
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

The surviving family of an end state renal disease patient who died in a Puerto Rico hospital after a transfer order was issued and before any transfer took place failed to establish a valid claim under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA).

9/04/09 - Transfer of High Risk Pregnancy Did Not Trigger EMTALA
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

A Philadelphia area perinatal testing center was determined not to have violated the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) when, during a routine scheduled monitoring visit, it referred a diabetic outpatient with a high risk pregnancy to another hospital for prolonged monitoring. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, the patient’s condition worsened leading to a caesarean delivery of a baby with traumatic brain injuries.

8/27/09 - New Medicare Audit Issues Identified For Providers in Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota
by Kathleen Henderson, K&B Partner and Healthcare Practice Chair

Medicare participating outpatient hospital and physician providers located in Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota may be audited by the Recovery Audit Contractor for Region B on three issue areas identified as potential improper payments categories.

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