F 602 Freedom from Misappropriation and Exploitation

Angie SzumlinskiLegal, Medication, Training

§483.12 “Each resident has the right to be free from abuse, neglect, misappropriation of resident property and exploitation… [Another example of] misappropriation of resident property is the diversion of a resident’s medication(s), including, but not limited to, controlled substances for staff use or personal gain.” Opioid Stewardship Implication: Drug diversion constitutes misappropriation of resident property. As controlled substances, opioids are …

Know Your Rights

Angie SzumlinskiLegal

On April 27, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that a group of New York long-term care facilities can challenge a Department of Health and Human Services administrative rule in federal court if it believes it violates the law. According to a summary by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, “The providers are challenging a regulation codified …

Mandate Or Not

Angie SzumlinskiLegal, News

In an article published in the APNews, a New Mexico corrections officer is suing New Mexico over the requirement that first responders and other employees be vaccinated, setting up another legal fight during a pandemic that is testing local and federal public health laws. The complaint centers on the FDA’s authorization of the vaccines for emergency use, noting that the …

OSHA and YOU!

Angie SzumlinskiCompliance, Legal

Healthcare workers face a number of serious occupational safety and health hazards. These include (but are not limited to) bloodborne pathogens and biological hazards, potential chemical and drug exposures, waste anesthetic gas exposures, respiratory hazards, ergonomic hazards from lifting and repetitive tasks, laser hazards, workplace violence, hazards associated with laboratories, and radioactive material and x-ray hazards. OSHA has been a …

For the Love

Angie SzumlinskiLegal, News

“As businesses worked to get PPE into the hands of those most in need of it, Christopher Dobbins chose to hack his former employer and maliciously interrupt that process,” said U.S. Attorney Nyung J. “BJay” Pak, in an article published by the U.S. Department of Justice. “His actions caused delays in the delivery of desperately needed equipment in the midst …

COVID Related Lawsuits

Angie SzumlinskiLegal

The pandemic has already created a flurry of individual and class-action lawsuits against post-acute care providers. In fact, according to data collected through a national association for lawyers, it is estimated that approximately 80 COVID-related litigation cases have been filed in Massachusetts alone, and more than 5,000 across the country. These cases are expected to be very costly to defend. …

CMS Resident Right to Vote Memo and Letter

Angie SzumlinskiLegal

On October 5th, 2020, CMS sent out a memo regarding compliance related to nursing home residents and their right to vote. CMS made clear that they are affirming the continued right of nursing home residents to exercise their right to vote, while acknowledging the challenges that have arisen with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although visitations are limited and there are new …

File Folder marked Standards

NCAL's message about Argentum's National Standards Initiative

Peter FeeneyCompliance, Legal, News

HealthCap® worked with AHCA/NCAL last fall to analyze what Argentum’s push for developing ANSI standards would mean for the industry. We found that national standards would be redundant to state licensing oversight and accompanying standards, which would confuse and complicate compliance. Furthermore, two sets of standards would fuel even more litigation, as trial attorneys will be able to hand-pick between …

American Flag With Lock

Latest LEIE File Released

Angie SzumlinskiLegal

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its updated List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE) database file, which reflects all OIG exclusions and reinstatement actions up to, and including, those taken in October 2019. https://www.oig.hhs.gov/exclusions/exclusions_list.asp