Tag Archive for: Mary Holloway Richard

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Attorneys support i2E 2015 BrewFest

Attorneys Monica Ybarra, Dawn Rahme, and Erica Halley at Brewfest

Attorneys Monica Ybarra, Dawn Rahme, and Erica Halley at Brewfest.

Hundreds of patrons filled the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on Nov. 5 to support i2E’s (Innovation to Enterprise) annual OKBio BrewFest.

The intellectual activity surrounding the annual i2E BrewFest channels the exciting physical changes in downtown Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Health Center, Bricktown, Deep Deuce and the state,” “Where else can you find entrepreneurs mingling to discuss their business plans and dreams with one another and with support professionals like the Phillips Murrah team that supports technical businesses as they establish themselves and expand?

-Mary Holloway Richard

“From conversations with a graduate student physiologist focusing on lessening the impact of retinitis pigmentosa to discussions with an OCU Botany professor and a young distiller known for his marketing genius who is expanding into new markets—all this on a beautiful fall evening at the ballpark.  Helping clients achieve their business goals in research, health care, product development is a exciting as it gets.”

Lauren Branch and her husband Phillips Murrah Director Doug Branch.

Lauren Branch and her husband Phillips Murrah Director Doug Branch at Brewfest.

The event featured samples from 23 of Oklahoma’s local craft beer, wine and spirits producers.

“OKBio BrewFest is an annual fall event to shine a spotlight on bio in Oklahoma and provide support for OKBio, which among other things provides BIO International scholarships to Oklahomans every year,” said i2E President Scott Meacham in an article about BrewFest.

Other event sponsors include Crowe & Dunlevy, Foundation HealthCare, Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, Oklahoma Gazette, Hall Estill, Caisson Biotech, Hit Design, VWR International, McAfee & Taft, Dunlap Codding, and Woodland & Associates.

Read more about BrewFest here.

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Attorney Mary Holloway Richard moderates webcast for OBA

Health Care Attorney Mary Holloway Richard hosted a webcast October 28 for the Health Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association.

“The presentation is entitled ‘Representing Vulnerable Populations: Behavioral Health Patients and Families,’ Richard said. “The webcast covers psychiatric diagnoses, emergency detention and involuntary admissions, confidentiality of information and other topics which will be useful to attorneys across the state called upon to represent behavioral health patients and their families.”

Richard served as moderator and presenter along with Judge Don Andrews, District Judge Oklahoma County formerly assigned to the Mental Health docket; Dr. Britta Ostermeyer, chairman Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine; and Dewayne Moore, general counsel of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.

The presentation was offered for Continuing Legal Education credit and will be made available by the OBA here.

 

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NewsOK Q&A: E-players enter health market

Published: August 19, 2015
By Mary Holloway Richard

Q: Is Google becoming a provider of health services?

A: One new Google product, “Helpouts,” allows consumers to search for clinical experts and then to video chat with those doctors. This project is in its final stages, and Google is working with some existing medical groups who are verifying the credentials of the doctors who are participating in the trial. The trial is limited to symptoms related to common conditions or diagnoses and a wide range of pediatric concerns. One pediatrician, for example, is available for free consultations with the goal of eliminating gaps created by isolated visits in favor of applied multidisciplinary expertise. Not all of the offerings are related to health care and not all of them are free.

Q: What’s the impetus for this expansion by Google and presumably other technology companies?

A: A consulting company, PWC, has referred to this trend as a move toward “… building a new health economy centered around the consumer.” Stated another way, there are patient needs to be met and patient populations to be built by providers. This is likely to bring new players into local, state and regional health care communities who may position themselves to receive revenue from shrinking health care dollars. For example, Walmart is experimenting with health conglomerate Kaiser Permanente to access physicians via Skype in two of its California locations. Providers who’ve petitioned the Department of Health and Human Services to allow Affordable Care Organizations to be reimbursed for “connect care” argue that it will improve quality and reduce costs. Providers participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program can’t currently bill for services provided using advanced technology.

Mary Holloway Richard is recognized as one of pioneers in health care law in Oklahoma. She has represented institutional and non-institutional providers of health services, as well as patients and their families. She also has significant experience in representing providers in regulatory matters.

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NewsOK Q&A: Sunshine Act applies to dentists, podiatrists, optometrists and chiropractors

Published: August 11, 2015
By Mary Holloway Richard

Q: The Physicians Payments Sunshine Act (“Sunshine Act”) was passed with the intent of limiting the affect of prescribing and treatment practices by payments to providers by manufacturers or groups involved with product selection known as group purchaser organizations. Does this mean that payments to physicians are actually listed on this website?

A: Yes, but the law doesn’t just apply to physicians. It also applies to dentists, podiatrists, optometrists and chiropractors. It doesn’t apply to medical or osteopathic residents, physician assistant or nurse practitioners. This information is reported annually by manufacturers and purchasing groups and is available to anyone on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) website https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/. The database is part of the Open Payments program created as a result of the Sunshine Act.

Q: What options does a provider have if he or she believes that information about a reported payment is inaccurate or misleading to the public?

A: There is a process by which physicians and other providers can seek to correct information they believe to be false. A dispute resolution process begins with a 45-day period during which a provider reviews and works with manufacturers or purchasing organizations to correct the information. During the following fifteen days, the reporting entity (manufacturer or group purchasing organization) can submit corrections to the Open Payments database. This combined 60-day period is the only time that corrections can be submitted by manufacturers and purchasing organizations. CMS will not mediate such disputes but encourages the parties to work together to resolve their dispute. You can see from this description that it is the physician’s or other provider’s responsibility to monitor this information on the website.  Providers can locate relevant data by their names.

Q: What kinds of payments are included in the CMS Open Payments database?

A: First, it applies to payments by manufacturers. That means manufacturers of prescription drugs, biologic agents and medical devices and supplies. Second, it also applies, as I have mentioned, to groups formed to help providers such as hospitals, home health agencies and nursing homes save money and time by purchasing in volume and obtaining manufacturers’ discounts. These are the group purchasing organizations. Third, it applies to payments such as consulting fees, honoraria, food, travel, entertainment, education, research support, charitable contributions, investment interests, grant, and any direct compensation. That’s not even a complete list.

Q: What is the impact of this database?

A: Many physicians, dentists, podiatrist, optometrists and chiropractors regularly disclose to their patients their participation as lecturers, researchers and consultants to such manufacturers and purchasing organizations. Where that is the case, there is likely to be minimal impact from such information appearing on the CMS website. There a great deal of criticism of the Open Payments program, however. For example, a listing of a specific payment or group of payments may be taken out of context and appear unexplained and create in inaccurate impression and a negative response that is not merited. It seems clear that there will be continued refinement of both the regulations and the manner in which the data is presented to the public in the future.

Mary Holloway Richard is recognized as one of pioneers in health care law in Oklahoma. She has represented institutional and non-institutional providers of health services, as well as patients and their families. She also has significant experience in representing providers in regulatory matters.

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Attorney Mary Holloway Richard sourced in CARE Act article

Attorney Mary Holloway Richard was featured as a source in a Journal Record article by Sarah Terry-Cobo.

The article, titled “Complex prognosis: Hospital group, AARP disagree on CARE Act,” focuses on the 2014 Oklahoma Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable Act and the protections it adds.

From the article:

Mary Holloway Richard, a health care attorney at Phillips Murrah, said the CARE Act doesn’t provide anything fundamentally different for elderly patients than laws in place before it was passed. Though the caregiver designation is different than a legal power of attorney, the patient still must sign a written release before the hospital can give out information to another person, she said.

“You could achieve the same thing if you got a release-from-patient for my best friend or my cousin, and in the discharge note you explain the care plan, and the patient gives you the release,” Richard said.

Read the rest of the Journal Record article here.

 

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