Jill Chasson Highlights Need for Anti-Harassment, Conflict of Interest Policies in Arizona Capitol Times

Jill Chasson Outlines Key ADA Medical Data Privacy Requirements in DataGuidance

With COVID-19 and the Omicron variant affecting many employers’ timing and conditions for bringing some or all employees back to the office, OneTrust Data Guidance turned to Jill Chasson for insight into important COVID-19 legal provisions and privacy considerations. Because employers may have access to employees’ screening, testing and vaccination medical information, it’s important to understand Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) confidentiality requirements. Jill outlines steps employers must take to separate and protect medical information, as well as limited exceptions. She also addresses reasonable accommodations employers may need to make to reduce COVID-19 risk for employees with medical conditions or disabilities. Well versed in the many federal and state laws that govern the workplace, Jill regularly conducts internal investigations and works with employers to resolve difficult workplace issues....

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Arizona Capitol Times Honors Roopali Desai as Best Capitol/Political Lawyer

Roopali Desai Elected as Member of Prestigious American Law Institute

The American Law Institute recently elected 59 eminent judges, lawyers and law professors for membership, including Roopali Desai. Selected for her professional achievement, Roopali will help the independent organization clarify, modernize and improve the law to promote better administration of justice. Dedicated to bringing the profession’s top minds together to find solutions to challenging topics, the Institute drafts, discusses, revises, and publishes influential Restatements of the Law, Model Codes, and Principles of Law. By participating in ALI’s work, Roopali will influence the development of the law in both existing and emerging areas, give back to the legal profession, and contribute to the public good. Membership in the prestigious ALI caps a banner year for Roopali, who prevailed in 11 lawsuits related to Arizona’s 2020 General Election. Her...

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Karen Owens Advises Hospitals on Attracting Physician Leaders to Peer Review Committees

Karen Owens Blogs About Affordable Care Act Anti-Sex Discrimination for AzSHA

Following up to a recent presentation to the Arizona Society for Healthcare Attorneys (AzSHA),  Karen Owens provided a more in-depth examination of the anti-discrimination provisions in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, including based on sex, limited English proficiency and disability. With major changes in the current regulations on sex discrimination expected and questions about the status of other parts of Section 1557, Karen’s blog helps readers understand the history and current status of Section 1557, major court decisions, practical realities for providers, and what may be next on the horizon. Karen, who serves on the AzSHA Board of Directors, represents health care systems, hospitals, clinics, and other providers in a variety of matters including quality management, medical staff credentialing and peer review, medical staff structures,...

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Erin Dunlap Provides Insight on Overturned HIPAA Penalty for Healthcare Risk Management

Erin Dunlap Guides Healthcare Risk Management Readers Through Revising HIPAA Patient Access Policies If Proposed Changes are Finalized

Following proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that left health plans and covered healthcare providers wondering how to prepare, Healthcare Risk Management turned to Erin Dunlap for insight. Explaining that patient access will be a key area of focus, Erin outlined eight ways patient access policies will need to be revised if HHS finalizes the changes. Erin also noted that revisions to a covered entity’s notice of privacy practices will also be necessary if the changes are finalized and urged plans and providers to prepare and budget for significant policy work and training. A nationally recognized expert in health care data privacy and security, Erin regularly advises organizations working in the health care space on a...

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ASU College of Health Solutions Lauds Mel Soliz’s Contributions to MDC Advisory Board

Mel Soliz Updates Washington Health Law Summit on Health Data Regulation Changes

When healthcare attorneys from around the country gathered in Washington, DC, to learn about legislative and policy developments at American Bar Association’s 19th Annual Washington Health Law Summit, Mel Soliz helped them understand changes to regulations governing health data use and sharing. In the “Data Roundup: Changes to Health Data Privacy, Security & Access Rules” session, Mel and co-presenter Elliot Golding from DC firm Squire Patton Boggs brought attendees up to speed on a consequential year for health privacy and data rules, as well as upcoming developments impacting the industry. Mel works closely with community health information exchanges, health care providers, and health plans to understand and create compliance programs for the Information Blocking Rule, as well as the CMS Interoperability and Patient Access Final Rule. President...

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Coppersmith Brockelman Promotes Telemedicine Specialist Marki Stewart to Partner

8 Ways Healthcare Attorneys Can Reduce Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality

Maternal mortality in the United States has more than doubled in the last 30 years—women living in the United States today are 50% more likely to die in childbirth than their mothers were a generation ago. Researchers estimate more than half of these deaths are preventable. Alarmingly, the path to motherhood is significantly deadlier for women of color than it is for their white counterparts. Nationally, black women are three to four times as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, a disparity that has only widened in recent years.((See Khiara M. Bridges, Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality, 95 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1229 (2020).)) Surprisingly, these disparities increase with age and education; data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention demonstrates that pregnancy-related...

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