Tag: final
CMS’s Final “Sunshine” Rule: Implications for Research
On February 1, 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its long-awaited final rule (Final Rule) implementing Section 6002 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as the “Physician Payment Sunshine Act” (Sunshine Act or Act).[1] The Sunshine Act was included in ACA to enhance disclosure and transparency of financial arrangements among physicians, teaching hospitals, and manufacturers of certain products (federally reimbursable drugs and biologicals as well as covered medical devices and medical supplies), and thereby reduce the risk of inappropriate financial incentives interfering with medical judgment and patient care. The Final Rule details requirements for processing and reporting payments by pharmaceutical, device, biological, and medical supply “applicable manufacturers”[2] to physicians and teaching hospitals that are “covered recipients.”[3] The Final Rule also sets forth requirements for reports of ownership and investment interests held … Read More »
HIPAA/HITECH Omnibus Final Rule: Implications for Research
The Department of Health and Human Services’ HIPAA/HITECH Omnibus Final Rule (Final Rule) includes a number of provisions that will alleviate certain restrictions and administrative burdens in human subjects research and help streamline the documentation associated with research. Here are the significant changes:
Compound Authorizations
The current HIPAA Privacy Rule generally prohibits “compound authorizations,” which are authorizations for use and disclosure of protected health information (PHI) that are combined with any other legal permission. An exception to this general prohibition permits combining an authorization for use and disclosure of protected health information in a research study with any other written permission for the same study, including an informed consent to participate in the research. However, until March 26, 2013, the effective date of the Final Rule, even the same study exception is unavailable if one of the authorizations or permissions conditions treatment, … Read More »
HHS Releases HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule
On January 17, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) publicly released the long-awaited HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule (Final Rule). The Final Rule (1) implements many provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act), expanding the privacy and security standards directly governing covered entities and business associates; (2) modifies the interim final rule for Breach Notification for Unsecured Protected Health Information (Breach Notification Rule); (3) modifies the HIPAA Privacy Rule to strengthen the privacy protections for genetic information by implementing section 105 of Title I of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA); and (4) makes certain other modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Enforcement Rules to improve their workability. Notably, the Final Rule does not address the anticipated accounting of disclosures requirements, which was the subject of … Read More »
Long-Awaited HIPAA and HITECH Final Rule Released
A final omnibus rule has been released by the Department of Health and Human Services. The final rule makes changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations related to privacy and security. The final rule, in its entirety, can be found here.
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Massachusetts Refines Its Sunshine Law; Final Federal Sunshine Regulations Moving Ahead
The relationship between health care providers and drug and device manufacturers has been a focus of lawmakers at both the federal and state level. While we continue to await final federal regulations implementing the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (federal Sunshine Act), which generally requires disclosure of financial arrangements among physicians, teaching hospitals, and drug and device manufacturers,[1] Massachusetts has refined its requirements governing relationships between physicians and drug and device manufacturers. Amendments to the Massachusetts Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturer Code of Conduct regulations[2] (the Massachusetts Regulations) broaden the scope of permissible meals and refreshments that may be provided by manufacturers to health care practitioners and clarify issues related to preemption of the Massachusetts Regulations by the federal Sunshine Act. The Massachusetts changes and impending release of final federal regulations underscore the continuing need for drug and device manufacturers to … Read More »