Courts nationwide have struggled for years with the question of when a subjective opinion is false under the False Claims Act. The Supreme Court’s decision to deny review of two cases involving health-care providers that had allegedly submitted false claims for payment based on subjective clinical judgment still leaves us without a uniform, national answer, says Nicholas A. Danella. The U.S ...
On March 9, 2021, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a 45-day extension of the public-comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. OCR first released the NPRM to the public on the HHS website on Dec. 10, 2020, and it was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 21, 2021 ...
On March 10, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in association with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued updated guidance for nursing homes to resume visitation options during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing homes have been devastatingly effected by COVID-19, with outbreaks causing high rates of infection and death ...
In connection with the adoption of a new law on the ethical treatment of clinical trials of medical devices, the Folketing has made a number of changes to the rules on the affiliation and financial support of pharmaceutical and medical companies to healthcare professionals. The amendments will enter into force on 26 May 2021 ...
In September 2020, a team of MIT researchers published a paper in the IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, testing the hypothesis that coronavirus carriers—even asymptomatic ones—could be accurately detected using artificial intelligence (AI) based on only a phone recording of a forced cough.If this hypothesis is correct, the COVID-19 test can be accessible to people worldwide ...
Shoosmiths hosted one if its best attended Shoosmiths Aviation & Marine Breakfast Association (SAMBA) webinars on 25 February. Joined by representatives from industries across the marine spectrum (boatbuilding, finance, insurance, marinas and the RYA) Elliot Bishop and Sarah Fairweather discussed the impact of Covid and Brexit on the leisure marine sector in particular and the outlook for the coming year ...
CRIMINAL Counterfeit VaccinesBy Andre Augusto Mendes Machado and Mariana Murad Leiva Counterfeiting vaccines may lead to criminal liability, usually for the crime foreseen in article 273 of the Brazilian Penal Code, that punishes with imprisonment from 10 to 15 years in addition to the payment of a fine the acts of "falsifying, corrupting, adulterating or modifying products intended for therapeutic or medicinal purposes" ...
It’s been more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and many companies are attempting to market products intended to help consumers deal with the risks associated with COVID-19. Some of the most common examples of such products include face masks, testing devices, hand sanitizers, and hard-surface disinfectants ...
Cal-OSHA’s COVID-19 regulation remains in effect after the trial court rejected a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by a coalition of employers. This included challenges to: (1) compensation for employees excluded from work; (2) mandated testing; and (3) health and safety requirements for employer-provided housing and transportation. Therefore, employers must continue to abide by the requirements of the emergency regulation ...
In 2020, telehealth went from promising ancillary issue to center stage in the healthcare industry. Regulators and law enforcement took notice. With enforcers’ attention now squarely on telehealth fraud and abuse, telehealth providers and companies are poised to be among the main targets for civil and criminal enforcement in the coming years. Webinar Recording Key Takeaways Telehealth is a key enforcement priority for federal and state enforcement agencies, including the U ...
This article has been updated based on the available information until 20th February 2021. As Government notifications are constantly revised, it is advisable to consult your attorney or visit the website of the relevant Government agency prior to travelling. Further, in additional to the guidelines published by the Central Government, passengers are also requested to refer to State specific official websites to be well informed about any additional requirements ...
As you already know, COVID-19 changed almost everything, and some of those things are likely here to stay (or at least linger for a while longer). One widespread change is the increased use of videoconferencing. In early 2020, a videoconference was a rarity, but now we Zoom in and out of classrooms, work meetings, and court appearances. Not surprisingly, the virtual world has reached the doctor’s office ...
In its conference on Feb. 19, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to consider two pending petitions for certiorari that could resolve a critical but deeply disputed issue that impacts both the False Claims Act and health care law. The cert petitions in those cases — U.S. v. Care Alternatives,[1] and Winter v ...
New measures to curb the “second wave” of COVID-19 cases have been introduced by the Dubai Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management (the Dubai Committee) and the Abu Dhabi Emergency Crisis and Disasters Committee for COVID-19 Pandemic (the Abu Dhabi Committee) ...
Introduction On 27 August 2020 the European Commission, on behalf of EU member states, entered into an advance purchase agreement (APA) with AstraZeneca for the production, purchase and supply of the Anglo-Swedish company's COVID-19 vaccine in the European Union.(1) The APA provides for: AstraZeneca's supply of 300 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine (the initial Europe doses); and an option for the European Union to order an additional 100 million doses (the optional doses) ...
Introduction On 21 January 2021 a new royal decree was published in the Official Gazette which has temporarily extended occupational doctors' role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in the workplace ...
We would like to inform you about several important news items, in the pharmaceutical industry, at the beginning of 2021. The Rules of registration and assessment of medicines for medical use in the EAEU come into force According to the Decision of the Eurasian Economic Commission Council (“EEC”), dated November 3rd 2016 No ...
Following the differences that came to light with AstraZeneca at the end of last week, the European Commission approved Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/111 of 29 January 2021, which came into force on Saturday, 30 January. The Regulation prohibits the unauthorised exportation of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 outside the European Union ...
Takeaways from webinar on 2 February 2021 hosted by Karen Howard, Matthew Stimson and Grace Mitchell from our planning & environmental team. What are public rights of way and why are they relevant? A public right of way (PROW) is a type of highway - a route across land over which the public at large has a right to pass/ repass without permission or interference ...
The de novo medical device process is a little-used but potentially valuable means of securing approval for your medical device. The pathway was established in 1997 subject to the Federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act, Section 513 (f) (2). It was designed to employ a risk-based strategy for novel devices that have not yet been classified. Basically, it establishes a new device type including classification, regulation, appropriate controls and product code ...
Early last year the Prime Minister dropped the “E-bomb” on British motorists, announcing a ban on cars powered wholly by petrol and diesel from 2030, and on the sale of new hybrid vehicles with the capability to drive a significant distance with zero emissions (such as plug-in or full hybrids) from 2035. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world in an unprecedented manner ...
Physicians, physician assistants, and advance practice nurses who have sought to treat opioid-addicted patients with Schedule III-V Controlled Substances that have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for that indication have had to apply for a waiver under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000. Eligible medications are presently limited to buprenorphine-containing products such as Suboxone and Subutex ...
Brief notes on Commission Regulation 2021/111 of 29 January 2021 Following the differences that came to light with AstraZeneca at the end of last week, the European Commission approved Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/111 of 29 January 2021, which came into force on Saturday, 30 January. The Regulation prohibits the unauthorised exportation of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 outside the European Union ...
On Jan. 19, 2021, the two recent final rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding changes to the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law) regulations (respectively the OIG Rule and the CMS Rule, collectively the Final Rules) became effective ...
In a recent press release, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS/OIG) announced five additional guilty pleas relating to a $1 billion telepharmacy fraud scheme. However, unlike many health care fraud cases, this particular case was investigated over the course of three years by an interagency team comprised of personnel from HHS/OIG, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S ...
