I am pleased to deliver to you the second edition of the Halloran & Sage LLP's Medical Malpractice E-Newsletter. You will notice that this issue contains some important and timely information about new federal and Connecticut state laws that will be effective October 1, 2009. We hope you use this information as a resource.
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Notification Requirements for Infectious Disease
By Renee M. Reed
 Public Act No. 09-76 effective as of October 1, 2009, concerns exposure to infectious disease and emergency responders. Hospitals are required to verbally notify the designated officer of an emergency service organization (ESO) no later than 48 hours after making a diagnosis and shall make such notification in writing not later than 72 hours after such diagnosis when a patient the ESO attended, treated, assisted, handled or transported to the hospital is diagnosed w/ infectious pulmonary tuberculosis (but not other infectious diseases). The law prohibits the hospital from revealing the patient's identity.
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Developments in Case Law Pertaining to the Certification of Good Faith
 In 1987, by enacting Connecticut General Statute §52-190a our legislature sought to discourage the filing of baseless lawsuits against health care providers, by requiring the plaintiff to conduct a precomplaint inquiry into whether there is a good faith basis to bring an action against the defendant. |
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Recent Changes to HIPAA Under the HITECH Act
By June M. Sullivan
 Did you know that the government recently made changes that require covered entities and business associates to notify people of privacy breaches? The HITECH Act[1] provides financial incentives to hospitals and physicians who adopt electronic health records systems. It also makes significant changes to the data privacy and security standards in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"). In particular, it increases the duties of covered entities for HIPAA breach notification to individuals. It also imposes a duty on business associates to notify the covered entity of security or privacy breaches.
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Never Events
By Renee M. Reed
 A bill of particular interest to hospitals and outpatient surgical facilities, should be Senate Bill 1048. Senate Bill 1048 requires the state to create a pharmaceutical bulk purchasing plan for participants in the State's public health insurance programs.
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