On June 1, 2018, any person or business that acquires or uses personally identifiable information of an Alabama resident, or contracts to maintain, store, process or access such information, may be subject to The Alabama Data Breach Notification Act of 2018.

I recently attended a conference in Las Vegas where I caught up with colleagues who specialize in healthcare operations and business strategy.

AAMC calls for a multi-pronged approach to address the looming physician shortage.

"If they have an email address of smokeemup@gmail.com on their resume, I'm not going to call," says Jennifer Neal, administrator with Pulmonary and Sleep Associates in Birmingham. "Obviously you're not thinking."

The most recent data finds one in every 10 Alabama adults suffer from asthma. The data also show more than 12 percent of Alabama children are living with the chronic respiratory disease at some point in their lives.

We recently reported that Michael Granston, Director of the Civil Fraud Section of the Department of Justice (DOJ), made comments during a November 2017 healthcare compliance conference suggesting that in cases where the DOJ has determined allegations in a qui tam (or "whistleblower") lawsuit lack merit, the government may more aggressively exercise its statutory authority - rarely used in the past - to dismiss such cases.

The battle over 340B continues as hospitals serving some of the nation's most vulnerable patients worry what will happen if $1.6 billion in cuts go through.

Not every major action takes an act of legislation.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently made a surprising announcement that it may begin seeking dismissal of meritless qui tam cases brought under the False Claims Act.

Physician-scientists from UAB using big-data recently summarized in the Journal of the American Heart Association the prevalence of cardiovascular manifestations, rates of defibrillator placement (ICD) and predictors of in-hospital mortality in sarcoidosis -- a disorder that affects multiple organs.

Adults who are 45 years old or older and who consume large amounts of sugary beverages, including soft drinks, fruit drinks and fruit juices, may have a higher risk of dying from heart disease or other causes, compared to those who drink fewer sugary drinks, according to new research.

A study by researchers at the UAB School of Health Professions published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, connects aerobic physical activity -- like walking -- to better sleep for post-primary treatment breast cancer survivors.

There is growing evidence showing a connection between Parkinson's disease and the composition of the microbiome of the gut.

Pulmonologist Sandra Gilley, MD says that COPD and lung cancer are a very real risk for women. And she wants physicians to be aware of the current screening recommendations.

Jim Freeman survived D-Day. He survived Rommel's tanks rolling over his foxhole in North Africa, and even made it home after lying wounded in the snow at the Battle of the Bulge.

'Brain tumor' may be the two most frightening words a patient will ever hear a surgeon speak. After the shock, there will be questions--most will ask what can be done.

Look in a medical textbook for an illustration of the pelvis, near the tailbone, and along each side you'll find a complex-looking structure of connecting bones and joints.

Hypothermia in newborns is common worldwide and the incidence of is substantially higher in developing countries. Even in the United States, many babies require hospitalization because of hypothermia.

In March, President Donald Trump signed a massive $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill into law to fund the federal government.

The only surgical course for those suffering from moderate lumbar spinal stenosis used to be open back surgery. But two years ago, a new option entered the physician's arsenal.

Mark Swanson, OD, MSPH, FAAO, professor in the UAB School of Optometry, has been named the American Optometric Association's 2018 Educator of the Year.

Urology Centers of Alabama hosted their annual CME conference in March at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Mountain Brook. This year's focus was "Urology Fundamentals: There's more to Urology than just Catheters!"

Brookwood Baptist Medical Center, part of the Advanced Neuroscience Network (ANN), earned the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's "Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke" Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll-Elite. T

David A. Cox, MD, MSCAI, director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at Brookwood Baptist Health and practicing at CVA, has assumed office as 2018-19 president of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI).

Infirmary Health in Mobile has become an affiliate of the UAB Health System.

Brookwood Baptist Medical Center has implemented a video-only webcam system designed for families to see their hospitalized baby whenever they wish. The system, called NICVIEW, is distributed by the Natus Medical Incorporated.

Colleen Tobe-Donohue, DO has joined the medical staff of Grandview Medical Center. She is board certified in Family Medicine by the American Board of Family Medicine.

The 2018 graduating class of the UAB School of Medicine celebrated another successful Match Day on Friday, March 16. With 98 percent of students' matching into residency positions, UAB students will continue their medical educations at 74 institutions in 27 states across the country.

The Graduate and Professional programs within the UAB schools of Nursing, Medicine, Engineering and Public Health and the College of Arts and Sciences rank among the nation's best, according to the 2019 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools Rankings.

Crayton "Tony" Fargason, MD has been named Director of Neurodevelopmental Initiatives, a key coordinating role between the UAB School of Medicine, the UAB Department of Pediatrics and Children's of Alabama.

Craig Powell, MD, PhD has been named chair of the Department of Neurobiology at the UCB School of Medicine and director of the Civitan International Research Center.