Physicians, lawyers to discuss health care developments at ABA Chicago conference

Physicians and their counsel will explore the role of doctors in today's changing health care environment during the Physicians Legal Issues Conference, sponsored by the American Bar Association Health Law Section, the Chicago Medical Society and American Association for Physician Leadership, June 10-12 in Chicago. Conference attendees will learn practical advice on handling problems relating to HIPAA breaches, telemedicine compliance and other legal issues.

Paul H. Keckley, Ph.D., managing director of Navigant Healthcare in Chicago, the keynote speaker on Thursday, will discuss the current state of health care reform and its impact on key sectors in the United States.

Dr. Bill Crouse, senior director of worldwide health for Microsoft in Redmond, Wash., Friday's keynote speaker, will share some personal, pragmatic insights on what we can expect from technology and how it will impact consumer health and health care.

Conference highlights include:

"Medicine in Crises: Response and Standards of Care in Disaster and Pandemics" - A panel of experts, including Matthew Penn, director of the CDC's Public Health Law Program, will discuss "crisis standards of care" planning and implementation, existing federal and state legal authorities on the delivery of care under disaster conditions, issues related to physician liability concerns and examples of disaster care from the perspective of the bedside patient care provider.

"OCR's Anatomy-HIPAA Breaches, Investigations and Enforcement" - Numerous high-profile breaches, the HITECH Act, the push toward electronic medical records and free-flowing health information exchange and the 2013 HIPAA Omnibus Rule have led to an enforcement and regulatory climate where HIPAA and information security are emphasized and fines and enforcement activity are robust. This session will include insights on how potential breaches arise and how to respond to them; why investigations are initiated, types of investigations and how to respond to them; the enforcement process, and enforcement activities and trends; and practical guidance on how to protect patient privacy, keep your practice out of the spotlight and respond appropriately and (hopefully) minimize your exposure when issues inevitably arise.

"Vendor Relationships: What a Physician Needs to Know" - Panelists from the Department of Justice and the Office of the Inspector General will discuss initiatives to investigate and stop abusive vendor relationships. The panel will also include a private sector attorney's perspective of these initiatives. They will discuss: current OIG positions on vendor relationships including pharmacy and DME, DOJ perspectives on nationwide trends and practices and the private side's view on how to best analyze and review potential vendor relationships.

"Telemedicine Compliance-Maximizing Patient Care & ROI while Minimizing Government Risks" - This presentation, given in part by Humayun Chaudhry, president and CEO, Federation of State Medical Boards, will discuss the recent uptick in medical board, FDA, FTC, Medicare and DEA investigations of telemedicine businesses. It will address best practices for avoiding government investigations while also highlighting the reimbursement and funding models that have proven most successful for maximizing ROI and the patient experience.

Published: Thu, Jun 04, 2015