Articles and Blogs

Release and Waiver of Claims Can’t Release and Waive Too Much  Employee severance agreements often grant severance benefits conditioned upon the departing employee’s signing an agreement that includes a general waiver and release of all claims.  That’s a common and prudent practice.  However, a recent complaint filed by the EEOC shows that common release and…Read More

Introduction What Is  a Scribe?  A scribe is a documentation assistant.  A scribe records, in “real time,” facts and events that occur between a patient and a physician or other practitioner1 (“Physician”) during a patient encounter.  In a hospital emergency department, the scribe accompanies the Physician to the treatment area and records in the electronic or…Read More

Hall Render Launches Stark Law Correction Initiative On May 30, Hall Render announced the formation of a coalition of health systems to pursue changes to the Stark Law.  The coalition, known as the Stark Law Correction Initiative (“SLCI”), will lobby Congress to adopt a “technical noncompliance” amendment that will fix the monetary penalty a hospital…Read More

Please be advised that the Wisconsin Division of Quality Assurance (“DQA”) has requested your response on the new online automated caregiver background check process for the four-year renewal background checks requirements by May 31, 2013.

In the Case of a Director at an Acute Care Hospital the Answer Is No Employers covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act are required to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of employees as long as it doesn’t create an undue hardship on the employer’s operations. Was it discrimination for an acute care hospital…Read More

One of the more difficult tasks facing medical staff leadership is determining when and how to respond to complaints of unprofessional physician behavior. A physician’s clinical competence can be assessed objectively, relying on case reviews by physicians in the same specialty area and accepted standards of care. Conducting such reviews are well within the professional…Read More

On May 14, 2013, the Indiana Supreme Court issued a 5-0 opinion authored by Justice Mark Massa in State v. Doe, 2013 WL 1975865 (Ind.,2013) reversing the trial court’s denial of the Defendant’s motion to reduce a punitive award pursuant to the statutory cap.  The Court held:  the statutory cap on punitive damages that may…Read More

On Tuesday, May 21, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that it had reached a settlement with a State University (“University”) arising out of alleged violations of the Security Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). The settlement comes after an HHS Office for Civil Rights…Read More

A New Indiana Criminal Records Law Affects Employers A new Indiana law (House Enrolled Act No. 1482) that protects the rights of individuals whose arrests and convictions have been expunged by court order will take effect on July 1, 2013.  This new law will affect employers in Indiana because it prohibits employers from discriminating against…Read More

Your Leave Is Up – Sorry but You’re Fired Many employers have medical leave policies.  Most of those policies allow leave for a maximum duration often three to six months or even up to a year.  The FMLA, of course, guarantees job protection for 12 weeks.  But what is an employer to do if an…Read More