Tag Archive for: oklahoma city law firm

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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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NewsOK Q&A: Americans with Disabilities Act cites only dogs as service animals

Published: July 24, 2015

By Mary Holloway Richard

Q: Sunday is the 25th anniversary of the signing of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). What animals are currently considered to be service animals?

A: The definition of “service animal” comes from the ADA and includes animals individually trained to perform tasks for individuals with disabilities. As of 2011, Titles II (state and local government services) and III (public accommodations and commercial facilities) of the ADA recognize only dogs as service animals, although there’s a separate provision about mini-horses. In addition to service dogs, there are sensory or social signal dogs, psychiatric service dogs and seizure response dogs.

Q: Is there a difference between a “service animal” and a “therapy animal?” 

A: Service dogs are trained to perform tasks or to do work for people with disabilities such as guiding the blind, alerting the deaf, pulling a wheelchair, reminding a person with a mental health diagnosis to take medications, or protecting a person who is having a seizure. The work must be directly related to the person’s disability. Therapy animals provide supports and comfort to people in many different types of situations.  There seems to be an impression among some members of the public that the service designation includes untrained animals providing comfort to owners of varying degrees of independence. It is generally true that a mental health provider may provide a letter indicating that a “regular” pet provides emotional support as needed by the owner who has a mental health condition or disability, and special training is not required. An  important distinction is that these are working animals and not pets. In my representation of hospitals over the years, I’ve been asked to advise concerning requests for visitation by a broad array of animals including burros, boutique cattle, and cats to serve specifically as therapy or emotional support animals. Some of the relevant case law from other jurisdictions involves monkeys and one involves a sugar glider, an Australian
opossum-like creature.

Q: Do these rules apply just to hospitals or do they also apply to other types of facilities and providers of health services?

A: The guidelines for service animals also apply to surgery centers, dental clinics, assisted living and long-term care facilities, and urgent care and outpatient clinics. The federal requirement is to allow service animals to accompany persons with disabilities in all areas of a facility or office where the public is normally allowed to go. It’s my experience that hospitals are better prepared than these other sites listed and physician offices to respond to these requests. Hospitals generally have policies and procedures that mirror state and federal laws and industry best practices.

Q: Are there limits to these ADA requirements?

A: When service dogs raise valid concerns about patient safety and quality of care, all providers in their distinct care settings will find it necessary to balance patient, staff, employee and public safety interests. Common valid concerns for institutional and non-institutional providers include infection control, allergies, animal control, safety of others, disruption of care or ability to safely provide quality services. An example of such a concern is a situation where a service dog’s presence is desired in a health care setting but there’s no one to provide the necessary care for the service dog. I also have encountered service animals with open wounds or otherwise in need of veterinary care that posed risks to patient care and to personnel that had to be considered. Another issue that has arisen is a service dog trained to be protective in a manner that impedes care by staff, such as a dog trained to place itself between the patient and others.

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EEOC and Proposed Wellness Regulations: What is means to Healthcare Providers

By Mary Holloway Richard, Attorney

shutterstock_healthcareWellness is in the news again.  Large employers have inserted wellness protocols and metrics into the workplace with great enthusiasm.  Advertisements for webinars tout the importance of clinicians and counsel getting on the wellness bandwagon, and articles on the topic appear daily in local and national newspapers.

The wellness debate continues and focuses on these issues:

  1. Financial impact
  2. High risk diseases and conditions subject to detection and prevention such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity and smoking
  3. Impact of economic status on health and ability to access to programs supporting lifestyle change (e.g., no time to attend a course or to exercise.

The Equal Employee Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) is the federal agency charged with oversight of employer compliance with the Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”) and specifically with guiding employers in properly complying with the ADA in the context of popular wellness programs.  The ADA is, of course, statutory; supporting regulations and interpretive guidelines are issued by the agency.  While the interpretive guidelines do not have the force of law, they are regularly instructive as a window into the agency’s perspective and intent in terms of review and enforcement

Recently, the EEOC proposed a rule change in which it will reverse its own policy on whether or not employer-sponsored wellness programs discriminate against employees.  The EEOC is now saying that such programs do not necessarily discriminate against workers. The agency also indicates that such employers have yet to show the financial benefits of such programs. The EEOC’s proposed rule change would allow for employers to decrease premiums as an incentive for employees to comply with recommended health screenings and to improve their health metrics without violating federal disabilities laws.

Presented in late April, 2015, the EEOC’s  proposed wellness regulations seek to establish how such a program must be structured in order to comply with the ADA’s rule permitting disability-related inquiries and medical exams by a “voluntary health program.”[i]  The proposed regulations require:

  • A cap on an employer-incentive or penalty at 30% of the total cost of employee-only coverage under the plan. [ii] Total cost refers to employer plus employee contributions.
  • Additional requirements for employers offering a wellness program in conjunction with a group health plan, including notice to employees of the medical information to be obtained and by whom and how the information will be used and how safeguards against improper disclosure.
  • New confidentiality provisions to be applied to information obtained in wellness programs by sponsors or wellness vendor.
  • The program itself must be created in such a way as to promote health status, prevent disease and not be overly burdensome on plan participants.

This does not relieve the employers from compliance with HITECH and HIPAA and the Affordable Care Act.  In addition and importantly, employers will be faced with differing requirements by the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Service — the agencies responsible for implementing the Affordable Care Act. These inconsistencies may be resolved at the close of the public comment period for these new EEOC proposed regulations. The period for public comment closes on June 19, 2015.

[i] It is likely that most wellness programs will fit into this category.

[ii] The Affordable Care Act’s non-tobacco incentive is held to the same limit for wellness programs including collection of health data.  The additional cap in the proposed regulations is for the same amount for the tobacco incentive for participation-only wellness programs unless the employer does not fall within the purview of the ADA (less than 50 employees.)  The policy ramification is that the EEOC does not distinguish between a tobacco-cessation wellness program where the participants are questioned about their tobacco use from one where a nicotine test is required of them to verify tobacco use or non-use.

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Author: Mary Holloway Richard is recognized as one of pioneers in healthcare 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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