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OUR LITIGATION TEAM IS
READY TO WORK FOR YOU!

No matter what situation you may encounter in the day-to-day operation of your healthcare enterprise, the litigation team at the Law Offices of David S. Barmak, LLC, is ready to assist you resolve the conflict. We can represent you in all areas of civil, administrative and criminal litigation.

Our team is experienced in all aspects of litigation and handles cases from the simplest to the most complex. We have successfully litigated matters including employment cases, contract disputes, torts and other malpractice matters, defamation cases and all types of commercial litigation including shareholders disputes and leasing issues. Our attorneys have also successfully resolved insurance reimbursement and fraud issues, administrative & licensure matters, hospital credentialing and privilege cases, fair hearings, regulatory compliance issues, and overpayment demands including statistical extrapolation cases and related claims.

  

The Barmak litigation group consists of Matthew R. Streger, Esq., who is the lead counsel on our team.  He has over 24 years of experience in healthcare as an attorney, healthcare provider and manager, author and lecturer. He focuses his practice on the legal needs of healthcare providers, including the litigation of complex healthcare matters. Matthew is admitted to practice in New Jersey and before the U.S. District of New Jersey and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals Courts.

Brandon C. Goldberg, Esq., is admitted to practice in New Jersey, Georgia and the District of Columbia. Brandon directs his services to regulatory compliance, liability defense, employee relations and corporate contracts for healthcare facilities, practice groups, professionals & businesses. Prior to joining the firm, Brandon was an associate at an Atlanta, Georgia law firm.

  

Aaron Rubin, Esq., is also a member of our litigation team. He is licensed to practice in New Jersey and New York. Prior to joining the firm, Aaron handled a wide range of civil litigation matters while working at a general litigation firm in central New Jersey. He focuses his practice on providing corporate compliance and legal services to healthcare facilities, providers & suppliers, practice groups and businesses.

  

                
For further information on our litigation services contact Matthew R. Streger, Esq. at (609) 454-5508 or mstreger@barmak.com.

  

  

As discussed in last month's edition of Health Care Matters, the January 25, 2013 final Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) rule made significant changes to the privacy and security regulations.  Perhaps most significant, however, is the elimination of a risk of harm threshold for when breach notice is required.

Under prior guidance, notice of breach was required when an assessment concluded that the disclosure posed a significant financial, reputational or other harm.  Fearing too much subjectivity in that standard, allowing covered entities to avoid notification, the final rule requires covered entities and business associates to notify individuals of a breach unless they can demonstrate a low probability that protected health information (PHI) was compromised.  In making this determination, the entity must conduct a risk assessment examining the following factors:

  

* Nature and extent of PHI involved, including the types of

   identifiers and the likelihood of re-identification;
* The unauthorized person who used the PHI or to whom the

   improper disclosure was made;
* Whether the PHI was actually acquired or viewed; and
* The extent to which the risk to the PHI was mitigated.

  

The burden is on the covered entity or business associate, if applicable, to show that no breach occurred.  If it is determined that a breach took place, notice of the breach must be provided to:

  

* Affected individuals, no later than sixty (60) days after

  discovery of the breach;
* Prominent local media, if the breach involves more than five

   hundred (500) persons in a state or jurisdiction;
* The Department of Health and Human Services, with notice to

   the individuals, if the breach involves more than five hundred

   (500) individuals
* In all other instances, notice must be provided to

   the Department of Health and Human Services within sixty

   (60) days after the close of the calendar year in which the

   breach is discovered.

In order to accomplish this, you must train your workforce on HIPAA's privacy and security requirements.  Business associates should be told of their roles and responsibilities regarding compliance, documentation and breach notification in a business associate agreement.

If you need any assistance in the creation or implementation of a HIPAA compliance program or if you would like assistance in the drafting, reviewing or editing of a business associate or related HIPAA agreement, please contact Jennifer Cohen, jcohen@barmak.com, at the Law Offices of David S. Barmak.