Gordon Ownby, General Counsel, CAP, and Michael Lamb, Managing Attorney, Schmid & Voiles, discuss scope of practice and consent issues regarding practicing medicine during the pandemic and explain various immunity provisions may apply to care rendered during the health crisis.

Physicians and office staff understand that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is federal law. It was designed to provide privacy standards to protect patients’ medical records and other health information. Nevertheless, many fail to recognize that they are not in compliance with federal privacy laws enacted since HIPAA. With an increase in the number of audits conducted for HIPAA compliance and larger penalty amounts, failing to comply with federal privacy laws is not something you can afford to do.

Question: How do I let my patients know that our practice now offers the option of telemedicine visits? What can I do to ensure that my patients receive the same level of care with telemedicine visits as they do with in-office visits?

Meet Sarah E. Scher, Chief Executive Officer of CAP. Physician Today spoke with her recently to find out more about why an organization like CAP can be such a huge benefit to the state’s physicians, especially now during these uncertain times.

Deborah Kichler, RN, MSHCA, senior risk manager at Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. was interviewed for this piece on informed refusal.