HHS concedes defeat in litigation over providers’ use of tracking technologies on websites
The hospital lobby cemented its victory in litigation about online tracking tools after HHS canceled its planned appeal. In June, the American Hospital Association (AHA) and co-plaintiffs won a decision in a Texas federal court about 2022 guidance (revised and somewhat softened in 2024) instructing hospitals and other HIPAA-covered entities to avoid using online tracking…
FTC and HHS’s Office for Civil Rights put healthcare stakeholders on notice about the use of tracking technology
Federal regulators plan to more rigorously monitor whether tracking technologies on provider websites are impermissibly disclosing consumers’ protected health information (PHI) to third parties in violation of HIPAA. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last month sent a letter to…
5 issues that are keeping healthcare compliance professionals up at night
Rarely has the compliance landscape been more muddled or presented more of a challenge for healthcare organizations. “I’ve been a compliance officer for about 20 years now, and I’ve been in healthcare forever,” said Kirsten Wild, RN, a nurse by background who now owns a healthcare compliance consultancy. “But the volume and the pace of…
Expanded information-blocking rules under the 21st Century Cures Act are here
Hospitals and health systems are among the healthcare industry stakeholders that will be impacted when expanded rules on information blocking take effect Oct. 6.
Healthcare News of Note: More Office for Civil Rights funding could boost HIPAA enforcement
Healthcare News of Note for healthcare finance professionals is a roundup of recent news articles: Cybercrime against healthcare organizations overwhelms the federal Office for Civil Rights, the cost of health inequities could reach $1 trillion, and primary care physicians need more hours in the day to provide recommended care.
Healthcare financial teams need accounting software that delivers clear, measurable results to navigate today’s challenges
One company uses its cloud-native financial accounting system to provide acute, ambulatory and post-acute organizations with data to solve their most complex challenges, focus on strategic initiatives, increase efficiency and drive growth.
CMS says EMTALA covers situations in which terminating a pregnancy is medically necessary
Even in situations that don’t qualify as life-threatening, the Biden administration says patients have the legal right to receive any type of stabilization measure at the discretion of their physician.
HHS policy update: Recent developments include an extension of the public health emergency and notable progress in reducing the Medicare appeals backlog
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra signed a 90-day extension of the COVID-19 public health emergency, ensuring the PHE will last until at least mid-July.
Fitch describes the heightened risk posed by cyberattacks on not-for-profit hospitals
Cyberattacks on NFP hospitals increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic and show no signs of abating, Fitch says.
CMS proposes to pull support from organ acquisitions: A grave threat to the future of U.S. organ transplants and donor programs
Transplant patient lives at risk under CMS’s proposal to stop supporting donor community hospitals excising organs for non-Medicare patients on waiting lists.