Last week, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized long-awaited regulations on Interoperability and Patient Access (the “CMS Rule”) to require Medicare Advantage plans, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) managed care plans, state agencies, and Qualified Health Plan (QHP) issuers on federally-facilitated exchanges (“CMS Payers”) to provide patients easy access to their claims and encounter information, as well as certain clinical information, through third-party applications of their choice. On the same day, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology finalized its rules on Interoperability, Information Blocking, and the ONC Health IT Certification Program (the “ONC Rule”) related to the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act). The CMS Rule and ONC Rule have far-reaching impacts.

As individuals and organizations covered by the rules are considering how they may facilitate their access to health information to support patients, health care providers, and others, it is important to understand when provisions in the rules will be effective and timing and what acts may constitute violations of these rules.  To help clients get familiar with these deadlines, we are providing this summary chart of compliance requirements and applicable deadlines to help your organization prepare for upcoming enforcement of the ONC Rule and the CMS Rule.  For legal advice tailored to the specific needs of your organization, please reach out to Jodi Daniel, head of the firm’s Digital Health Practice at jdaniel@crowell.com.

As you read the chart, you should keep the following in mind:Continue Reading Compliance Reference Chart for ONC and CMS Interoperability Rules

The FDA is focusing on safety and effectiveness of interconnected medical devices with the issuance of final guidance on medical device interoperability, released last week. As the FDA notes, medical devices are becoming increasingly connected to one another and to other technologies, and it is critical to address their ability to exchange and use information safely and effectively.

For device manufacturers, this guidance provides clarity on how the FDA is thinking about interoperability and patient safety in the premarket submission process and provides considerations for manufacturers in the development and design of interoperability medical devices. It demonstrates the FDA’s focus on the safety and effectiveness of devices as implemented in an interconnected environment and the expectations of FDA on manufactures to anticipate and design for anticipated uses and reasonably foreseeable misuses. Manufactures should consider this guidance in the design, development, and on-going monitoring of connected medical devices.

This guidance may be helpful for other audiences as well:

  • Care providers that frequently interact with medical devices in the course of patient care
  • Hospital IT teams who make device purchasing decisions
  • Vendors of health technologies that frequently exchange data with medical devices

Continue Reading Interoperability by Design: FDA Issues New Final Guidance for Connected Medical Devices

In late June, Crowell & Moring partnered with Accenture to host a comprehensive one-day conference on legal issues affecting the digital health landscape. The program covered a wide range of topics, some of which you can read more about via the following links: Developing Digital Health Platforms; the Health Care Economy’s Internet of Things; and New Payment Models and Data. More information on the June 23rd “Fostering Innovative Digital Health Strategies Conference” can be found on Crowell.com.

One session touched upon privacy and cybersecurity issues regarding the usage of products and data in the digital health realm. This panel was moderated by Fauzia Zaman-Malik, Accenture’s Global Legal Lead for Health Industry Offerings and North America Legal Lead for Health and Public Services Operating Group; and featured Evan Wolff, partner at Crowell & Moring; Cora Han, FTC senior attorney, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection; and Hilary Weckstein, chief privacy officer at Inovalon, Inc.

This panel focused on methods and benefits of de-identification, HIPAA requirements, the FTC’s role in regulating big data and digital health technologies, and data breach preparation and response.  Keep reading for four key takeaways from this session; the full panel session can also be accessed by video at this link.Continue Reading Digital Health, Big Data, Cybersecurity, and Privacy – Four Key Takeaways from C&M’s Digital Health Strategies Conference

On June 23, Crowell & Moring and Accenture co-hosted the Fostering Innovative Digital Health Strategies Conference in Crowell’s D.C. office. The conference provided a broad analysis of the business and legal issues that must be addressed as health care organizations and technology companies consider innovative strategies to use digital health technologies. The conference covered several topics including trends in the health care economy’s Internet of Things, setting up digital health platforms, legislative activity related to telehealth, and the use of digital health technology to support new payment models.

The fifth session of the conference, “New Payment Models and New Sources of Data for Care Coordination and Quality Improvement” featured John Brennan (Partner, Crowell & Moring), Dr. Elizabeth Raitz-Cowboy (Southeast Medical Director, Aetna Life Insurance Company), Barbara Ryland (Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring), and Soph Sophocles (Associate General Counsel, Biogen).

The discussion addressed changes and themes in the wake of digital health technology and growing use of data. Key takeaways from the session:Continue Reading New Payment Models and Data: Changes and Themes to Watch

Crowell & Moring and Accenture co-hosted a conference, “Fostering Innovative Digital Health Strategies,” in late-June. The program aimed to provide a broad analysis of the business and legal issues that must be addressed as health care organizations and technology companies consider innovative strategies to use digital health technologies.

The first session of the conference, “Trends in the Health Care Economy’s Internet of Things,” featured the following distinguished panelists: Zane Burke (president, Cerner); Jodi Daniel (partner, Crowell & Moring); Cheryl Falvey (partner, Crowell & Moring); Melissa Goldstein (assistant director, Bioethics and Privacy Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President); and Kaveh Safavi (senior managing director, Global Health Industry Lead, Accenture).

A series of five videos from the session can be watched below:

Here are key health care Internet of Things (IoT) trends discussed in Session 1:Continue Reading 6 Trends in the Health Care Economy’s Internet of Things