The names, logos, and slogans of products and services in the healthcare industry are valuable assets, representing the established goodwill of a hospital, pharmaceutical company, health insurer, or even a local family practice.  In South Jersey, such well-known names as Virtua®, Cooper®, and Jefferson®, have secured their names and logos through the federal trademark registration […]

On July 18, 2015, Governor Chris Christie signed Senate Bill 1998/2119 (A3062) into law.  The law, which unanimously passed the New Jersey Legislature, revises the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), to provide preventative measures against increased misuse and diversion of prescription pain medications.  Among other provisions, the law requires that pharmacists must submit to […]

In a case that examines the confluence of contract law, agency, and a common healthcare industry practice during patient intake, which may ultimately have repercussions outside of Florida, a panel of the Court of Appeal of Florida, in Fi-Evergreen Woods, LLC v. Estate of Robinson, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 11195 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 5th […]

In a decision sure to raise the eyebrows of health care system CFOs all the way down to the accountants of sole practitioners, the United States District Court for the District of Washington D.C. recently upheld the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) interpretation of 42 C.F.R. 413.89(e), as preventing providers from claiming a […]

Since 2014, over one-third of states have enacted legislation, commonly known as “Right to Try” laws, in an effort to increase access to drugs which have yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, for use by the terminally ill who have exhausted their treatment options.  Under the traditional FDA regulatory scheme, drugs […]

In a June 9, 2015 Fraud Alert issued by the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (the “OIG”) entitled “Physician Compensation Arrangements May Result in Significant Liability” the OIG reiterated its longstanding position that physicians who enter into “compensation arrangements . . . must ensure that those […]

Late last week, the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Health and Human Services Administration (OIG) issued an auspicious advisory opinion concerning “a nonprofit, tax-exempt, charitable organization’s proposal to provide financial assistance to individuals with chronic diseases, including cancer, to assist with the costs of health insurance and drug and device therapies.”  […]

This spring, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has gone on the offensive in a series of public speeches before bar associations concerning the DOJ’s emboldened and proactive approach to the investigation and prosecution of healthcare fraud against both individuals and corporations.  Given that the DOJ is ramping up its efforts to combat healthcare fraud, seeking […]

Peer review is the essential process by which physicians critique the medical services provided by their colleagues for the purposes of decreasing occurrences of medical malpractice and increasing the quality of health care, while simultaneously serving as a primary method of evaluating the quality of patient care. Currently, almost all states have enacted peer review […]

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) recently announced the next ACO (Accountable Care Organization) venture in the release of its proposed “Next Generation ACO” initiative. It claims this initiative will create better opportunities for coordinated patient care and set higher standards for quality and safety. The Affordable Care Act has encouraged the formation of […]