Tania Dawood writes on the mystery of maternal morbidity in the face on modern medicine and how it impacts obstetrical providers.

A recent study by the CDC suggests that approximately 84.2% of postpartum deaths are preventable. When the CDC viewed the statistics to determine whether a death was preventable, the CDC asked was “there at least some chance of the death being averted by one or more reasonable changes to patient, community, provider, facility, and/or systems factors.”

Ann Ford, Partner at HPS Law and Managing Director of HPS Advise, and Chad Gough, HPS Advise Consultant, presented a webinar on electronic health records (EHR)/electronic medical records (EMR), audit trails, digital discovery and managing the risks they present in litigation. The webinar focused on federal law and on related issues that are current in Illinois.

Ann Ford, Partner at Hall Prangle and Schoonveld, LLC (HPS), and Managing Director of HPS Advise, has been named one of Chicago Daily Law Bulletin & Chicago Lawyer’s 2021 Salute! Women in Law Award honorees. According to CDLB’s website, this award is based on the nominee’s “work to mentor and promote other women in the profession, their success in the legal community and being a shining example of leadership.”

On December 27, 2020, former President Trump signed into law the No Surprises Act, which aims to protect healthcare consumers from surprise billing. The act went into effect on January 1, 2022.

Three HPS attorneys have been featured in the 2021 issue of Marquette Nurse, the Magazine for Marquette University College of Nursing.

On November 20, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published two new final rules aimed towards supporting care coordination and value-based care. As part of the Trump Administration's "Sprint to Coordinated Care" plan, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) revised the safe harbors under the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revitalized the physician self-referral regulations ("Stark Law").

Recently, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a rare Special Fraud Alert pertaining to medical device and pharmaceutical speaker programs. The OIG defines speaker programs as "company-sponsored events at which a physician or other health care professional makes a speech or presentation to other health care professionals about a drug or device product or a disease state on behalf of the company." The sponsoring company typically pays the speakers an honorarium.

On Wendsesday, December 2, 2020, HPS Partners Ann Ford and Laura Ginett will take part in a virtual lunch discussion of Telehealth.

On Friday, November 20, HPS Partners Ann Ford and Laura Ginett will present at the Chicago Healthcare Risk Management Society's (CHRMS) Annual Risk Management and Patient Safety Day. This event is digital due to COVID-19.

In May 2020, the Illinois Department of Public Health ("IDPH") informed the State Emergency Operations Center that many Illinois hospitals may need to implement crisis standards of care to combat the COVID-19 public health emergency

As a result of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been actively promulgating nonbinding recommendations to address a litany of issues that have surfaced in the wake of the global pandemic

As state-at-home orders are lifted and businesses reopen, Employers should be aware of new paid leave requirements that went into effect on April 1, 2020. In addition to ensuring compliance with established federal, state and local employment laws, Employers must also now navigate through several new employment laws and regulations brought about by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).1

Resources for the May 19, 2020 Virtual Forum: Virtual Forum: Using Telehealth in Long-Term Healthcare Facilities During the Fight Against Covid-19 & Its Aftermath

Join Hall Prangle + Schoonveld, LLC and the Partnership for a Connected Illinois' Telehealth Initiative on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 from 12pm - 1:30pm CST (Available On Demand May 22, 2020).

On April 1, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker released his most recent Executive Order where he declared that Health Care Facilities, Health Care Professionals, and Health Care Volunteers are immune from civil liability for any injury or death that allegedly arises from providing assistance to the State in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

This post is an update to a March 20, 2020, post "HHS Waives Telehealth Restrictions for Medicare Beneficiaries to Expand Access to COVID-19 Treatment.”

In response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar issued a limited waiver of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Effective March 15, 2020 at 6:00 p.m., a covered hospital will not be subject to sanctions or penalties arising from noncompliance with the following provisions.

On March 6, 2020, President Trump signed the $8.3 billion Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act into law, which provided $500 million in waivers for certain Medicare telehealth restrictions during the COVID-19 public health emergency.