Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
HIPAA and State Discovery Practices
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is a complex commercial statutory scheme aimed at regulating the health care industry's use and storage of electronic health information. In drafting this legislation, Congress expressed concern that health care entities must assure their “customers,” including patients, “that the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of electronic protected health information they collect, maintain, use, or transmit is protected.” 68 Fed. Reg. 8334 (Feb. 20, 2003). HIPAA (Pub. L. No. 104-191) is codified in myriad sections of 18, 26, 29, and 42 of the United States Code. Using the Public Law Number cite and referring to the most recent edition of the United States Code Annotated Tables periodical will permit the reader to pinpoint these scattered United States Code sections.
Because of HIPAA's vast scope and because of its wording, that it “shall supercede any contrary provision of state law,” attorneys have begun to look to HIPAA as a means to preempt unfavorable multi-state discovery practices involving personal injury plaintiffs. An example of such a discovery practice that has recently come under fire is the practice of conducting ex parte interviews of a personal injury plaintiff's health care providers. As this article demonstrates, this practice is a time- and cost-effective alternative to conducting multiple, and potentially fruitless, formal depositions of each and every health care provider potentially involved in the treatment of a personal injury plaintiff. The practice is also currently employed in as many as 25 states, as well as in the District of Columbia.
Law Firms are Reducing Redundant Real Estate by Bringing Support Services Back to the Office
A trend analysis of the benefits and challenges of bringing back administrative, word processing and billing services to law offices.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Bit Parts
Summary Judgment Denied Defendant in Declaratory Action by Producer of To Kill a Mockingbird Broadway Play Seeking Amateur Theatrical Rights
Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes
“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.
Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel
'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.