As we approach various deadlines for COVID-19 vaccine mandates, both in the private and the public sector, there appears to be confusion over when vaccine information may be shared with employers and what obligations employers have, if any, under The Health Information Portability and Accounting Act ("HIPAA") to protect such information once obtained.

It is always important for medical practices to be aware of the issues that need to be considered with the retirement plan when a physician leaves the group.

The first Provider Relief Fund (PRF) reporting deadline of September 30 has come and gone.

Starting November 1, DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa will change their hospitalist care to coincide with their sister hospital Northport Medical Center, whose changeover began October 1. Both facilities will now be served by Capstone Health Services Foundation and IN Compass Health.

Emergencies don't always come from disasters or cyberattacks. "One company I knew had clinics in strip malls," says Jeff Dance, MBA, executive director of Kassouf Healthcare Solutions that manages 16 healthcare locations.

Which procedure is lower risk--gallbladder surgery or a gastric sleeve? "Even physicians are often surprised when I tell them a bariatric sleeve procedure is lower risk the way we do it today," Ascension St. Vincent's surgeon Katie Novitski, MD said

A procedure for relief of severe back and leg pain is improving outcomes for patients.

Viewership Increased Across the World as Word Spread

The COVID-19 pandemic over the past 18 months has impacted almost every area of our pre-COVID, "normal'' lives---working from home, a demand on toilet paper, and a decline in the workforce, just to name a few. Almost no industry has been spared when it comes to the impact of the pandemic.

When physicians are looking into a malpractice insurance policy to purchase, there are several factors to consider that are as important as price.

Some people spend decades searching for their purpose in life. For Robert Record, MD, that sense of purpose came at the age of 17, walking across the farm fields of Louisiana.

Healthcare facilities exist to deliver care, but without an adequate supply of healthcare professionals, the system cannot function. Currently, the United States is in the midst of a nursing shortage, and Alabama has been affected.

If you are a physician, administrator, or hospital executive, and if you have been paying attention to the current state of Medical Professional Liability (MPL), commonly referred to as Medical Malpractice or Med-Mal, then you are aware that the Med-Mal world has entered a challenging time.

Beware of the enticement to switch merchant services to a financial institution with lower fees on credit card transactions.

"No one is going to care about collecting your money as much as you will, so normally I'm not a proponent of outsourcing," says Tammie Lunceford, CMPE, CPC

Communication is key when it comes to addressing a patient's financial responsibility for medical bills.

"I sell more cyber insurance than malpractice at this point," says Kay Brasfield with Mag Mutual, a medical liability provider.

The number of ransomware attacks worldwide has climbed 20 percent in the last two months, and 93 percent in the past year, according to a June release from Check Point Research.

Physicians at Princeton Medical Center have repurposed a therapy that has been used for years to support oxygen levels in patients with severe lung disease.

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting challenges facing health care providers, compliance with fraud and abuse laws has not been waived.

While the healthcare environment has undergone dynamic change over the last 50 years, the demand for more affordable, accessible and higher-quality patient care services has remained constant.

The first phase of a new health park will open this month in Hartselle. An outreach of Cullman Regional Medical Center, the park will be the first of its kind in Alabama.

The Auburn Research Park covers more than 170 acres of lakes, meadows, forested areas and a wetland preserve adjacent to the Auburn University campus.

On April 5th, the final information blocking rules issued by the Office of National Coordinator ("ONC") took effect, leaving providers with numerous questions regarding what information has to be released, to whom, and how quickly.

The invention of the flexible fiberoptic endoscope by Basil Hirschowitz, MD, who founded UAB's Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, was one of the great leaps forward in modern medicine.