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Patient Privacy Breach at Nemours Follows Florida Hospital Information Leak

After a patient privacy breach at Florida Hospital a few weeks ago, another patient records scare has hit Florida – this time at Nemours.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, information belonging to Central Florida patients of Nemours Children’s Health System has gone missing.

Computer back-up tapes containing old patient billing information have disappeared from the Wilmington, Del., office of Nemours. These tapes were not password protected and stored in a locked cabinet. Company officials believe the cabinet may have been removed when the office was remodeled in August.

Stored in the missing tapes are patient names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, insurance information, medical diagnoses and treatment codes, as well as bank account information. If stolen, this information could […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:25-04:00June 1, 2018|In the News, The Health Law Firm Blog|

New Florida Drug Database Aimed at Preventing Drug Abuse

Recently, Florida pharmacists, physicians and pain management clinics have received negative attention over frequent Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raids. Now, Florida is once again in the spotlight as the state has launched a drug database in an attempt to reduce drug abuse perpetuated by visits to the doctor.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, this database will allow physicians and pharmacists to review a patient’s prescription history before issuing prescriptions for painkillers like OxyContin and other powerful drugs.

These preventative measures are not new to Florida health care providers. After garnering a reputation for frequent drug trafficking, proliferated by pain management clinics, the state passed legislation banning many doctors from dispensing dangerous controlled substances in their offices.

Currently, use of the database […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:25-04:00June 1, 2018|In the News, Pain Management, Pharmacy, The Health Law Firm Blog|

Former Texas Official Sentenced for Retaliation Against Nurses

According to ABC News, Scott Tidwell, a former West Texas county attorney, will serve four months in jail and 10 years of probation for retaliating against two nurses.

The nurses filed an anonymous complaint to state medical regulators against a doctor who used herbal remedies and hospital supplies to perform at-home procedures. The doctor then ordered a friend, a county sheriff at the time, to investigate the complaint, which resulted in the nurses being fired from their jobs and charged with felonies.

Tidwell acted as the prosecutor in the trial against one of the nurses. She was acquitted, and the charges against the other nurse were dropped.

Tidwell is not the only player in this case who […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:26-04:00June 1, 2018|Health Care Industry, In the News, Nurses, The Health Law Firm Blog|

Benchmark: DEA Conduct Resulted in Dismissed Charges

In light of the DEA‘s recent focus on Florida’s prescription drug trafficking problem, we wanted to discuss a former case in which the DEA‘s actions resulted in a favorable outcome for alleged drug dealers.

According to the Daily Journal, in 2004, U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper dismissed charges against three alleged methamphetamine dealers after an attorney to one of the defendants argued that the informant improperly relied on a “subinformant” to set up drug transactions in order for DEA agents to bust suspected dealers. According to the attorney, the informant used the intermediary to protect himself and the DEA from entrapment claims. Because of this, defense attorneys could not derive from the primary witness how the drug […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:26-04:00June 1, 2018|Health Care Industry, In the News, Pain Management, Pharmacy, The Health Law Firm Blog|

Florida’s Pill Mills Still a Target

Last week, the DEA announced the results of enforcement efforts directed at Florida’s illegal prescription drug distributors.

According to the DEA, more than 100 individuals have been arrested in operations targeting pill mills in Florida, and the DEA, as well as Florida law enforcement, will continue to investigate and prosecute pain clinics, pharmacies and physicians who are contributing to Florida’s prescription drug trafficking epidemic.

Operation Pill Nation I, initiated in February 2011 in South Florida, has resulted in the arrest of 47 people, including 17 doctors and five clinic owners, and the seizure of more than $18.9 million in cash and assets. Furthermore, over 70 doctors, six pharmacy owners and five DEA Registered Controlled Substance Distributors have […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:26-04:00June 1, 2018|Health Care Industry, In the News, Pain Management, Pharmacy, The Health Law Firm Blog|

Kissimmee, Pine Hills Pain Clinics Investigated

Clinics in Kissimmee and Pine Hills are under investigation. A doctor involved with the clinics is accused of over-prescribing painkillers and other addictive medicine, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Drug agents with the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation collected evidence and talked to patients at the Miracle Health Center/Pine Hills Medical Center, and at the Keneday Medical Clinic.

This doctor has had previous complaints filed against him by The Department of Health (DOH), and he may now face an emergency suspension order (ESO).

Criminal charges have not yet been filed but are expected.

The doctor is under investigation for allegedly prescribing more than 800,000 oxycodone tablets to patients in the last two years.

According to DOH records, the doctor has previously been accused of improperly […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:27-04:00June 1, 2018|In the News, Pain Management, The Health Law Firm Blog|

Halifax Whistleblower Claims Hospital Overbilled Medicare

The U.S. Department of Justice has joined a whistleblower suit filed against Halifax Hospital by the hospital’s director of physician services, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed its part of the lawsuit on Friday. It claims that Halifax Health defrauded the federal government by submitting thousands of false claims for Medicare and Medicaid payments worth millions of dollars. By filing, the U.S. Department of Justice hopes to recover millions of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid payments that it says were made in error to Halifax.

Elin Baklid-Kunz filed a lawsuit against Halifax in 2009. As a whistleblower, he could be awarded a percentage of whatever the government recovers. […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:27-04:00June 1, 2018|Health Care Industry, In the News, Medicaid, Medicare, The Health Law Firm Blog|

CVS Refuses to Fill Prescriptions For Some Florida Doctors

The crack down on Florida pill mills continues with CVS pharmacies notifying some doctors that they no longer will fill their prescriptions for certain narcotic medications.

According to Health News Florida, this new policy appears to be limited to Florida, but CVS has not clearly stated what is being used to determine which doctors can have their prescriptions filled for which drugs (though oxycodone definitely appears to be a target).

The Florida Academy of Pain Management, released a letter via email alert that was sent by CVS to a Central Florida physician. The physician who received the letter had never been disciplined by state medical regulators and had extensive pain management training. The email alert, stated that CVS appears […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:27-04:00June 1, 2018|Department of Health, Health Care Industry, In the News, Pain Management, Pharmacy, The Health Law Firm Blog|

National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) Update

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). This legislation made many reforms to the American health care system and with it came many changes that will affect both health care providers and consumers alike. One such change brought about by this legislation was the elimination of the independent Health Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB), and its merger with the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). This will not affect the purpose of the federal government’s clearing house for disciplinary and malpractice information, but will forever change how the information is disseminated.

To understand the changes, one must first know the history of the NPDB. The NPDB was established by Title […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:28-04:00June 1, 2018|In the News, The Health Law Firm Blog|

Suspected Florida Pill Mills Continue to Attract Investigations

According to the Orlando Sentinel, some of the worst alleged pill mills in Florida are located in Orlando. At a small pain clinic near downtown Orlando and an affiliated office, one doctor prescribed more oxycodone during a three-month period in 2010 than all doctors in the state of California combined. Details about the clinic from former employees span a nearly 200-page affidavit filed in Orange County Circuit Court in the racketeering case against doctors and management of this pain clinic. The documents offer a rare glimpse inside the investigation.

In this case, agents examined bank records, Crimeline tips and records from the Medical Examiner’s Office. Additionally, FDLE and Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation agents gathered prescribing […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:28-04:00June 1, 2018|In the News, Pain Management, Pharmacy, The Health Law Firm Blog|