The MedSafe Compliance Corner

With breaches of protected health care information reported nearly every day in the news, the one word that keeps popping up is “encryption.” The fact that a laptop or hard drive was lost or stolen isn’t the problem; the problem is that the data on these devices was not encrypted.

• Senate Investigates Opioid Drug Manufacturers
• HHS Charges 107 Individuals for $452 Million in False Billings
• NIH Partners with Pharmaceutical Companies to Share Research
• Abbott Laboratories to Pay $1.6 Billion for Illegal Marketing
• Health Care Innovation Grants Announced

Senate Investigates Opioid Drug Manufacturers

The social media giant, Facebook, has launched an initiative to encourage people to declare their intention to become organ donors by making a pledge on their Facebook pages. With 161 million members in the United States, and 900 million members globally, it is hoped to make organ donation a social norm and potentially eradicate the problem of a shortage of available organs.

• Facebook Encourages Users To Register as Organ Donors
• Two Homecare Initiatives Announced by HHS
• Hospitals Concerned About Meeting Meaningful Use Requirements
• Drug Screens Show High Degree of Noncompliance
• Medical Errors Reduced by 40% Using New Handoff Program

This year, 577,000 people will die from cancer in the United States, and at least two-thirds of those deaths could have been prevented. Approximately one-third will die from the effects of tobacco use, and one-third will die from poor nutrition, physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity. In addition to these figures, regular screening tests can prevent the development of cancer by early detection and treatment.

• Some Hospital-Acquired Infections Down
• Final Rule Issued To Protect Against Fraud
• CMS to Pay $3 Billion in Hospital Underpayments
• Fentanyl Patch Can Be Deadly to Children
• $200 Billion Projected in Medicare Savings

Some Hospital-Acquired Infections Down

American consumers have high expectations that the food they purchase will be safe and free from hazards. They rely on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well other federal and local health authorities, to protect the food supply from dangers and threats to health. Yet, the challenges are many, as globalization, advances in science and technology, and consumer expectations create changes in the human and animal food systems. Diet-related diseases and obesity pose a significant threat to the nation’s health, and contamination and foodborne illness continue to have a substantial impact on public health, with an estimated 48 million illnesses resulting in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths each year.

• HHS Proposes Delay in Deadline for ICD-10 Coding System
• FDA and ISMP Collaborate to Prevent Medication Errors
• ERs Customizing Emergency Rooms for Elderly Patients
• Hospital Pharmacies Diluting and Rationing Drugs in Response to Drug Shortages
• FDA Releases Two Guidance Documents to Stop Tobacco Epidemic

HHS Proposes Delay in Deadline for ICD-10 Coding System

That is the ethically charged but commercially important question currently under examination by the courts.

• E-prescribing Incentive Payments Grow Dramatically
• FDA Panel Votes in Favor of Cardiovascular Studies for Weight Loss Drugs
• FTC Won’t Block Express Scripts / Medco Merger
• Cancer Rates Decline
• FDA Concludes BPA Is Safe

E-prescribing Incentive Payments Grow Dramatically