Health Care Law Blog
In our November 22, 2011 post entitled
"Health
Facilities Must Display Notice About Employees' Organizing Rights", we
conveyed the National Labor Relations Board's ("NLRB") requirement
that health facilities, among others, must post a notice advising those on
payroll of their rights to negotiate as a group and join a union. At that time, the notice was required to be
posted by January 31, 2012. However, the
NLRB has further delayed the effective date of the required posting until April
30, 2012. The NLRB agreed to this
postponement because of a request by a federal court in Washington D.C.
that is currently reviewing a legal challenge to this requirement. While the implementation date may have been
delayed, employers should prepare for the April 30th deadline. For more information on the mandatory contents
of the required posting, please review our November 22 post.
Even though the Republican-run Michigan House of Representatives is stalling legislation to create the Michigan Health Exchange, 2014 is quickly approaching. Starting in 2014, insurance will be available on Health Exchanges. If Michigan does create legislation creating its own Exchange, the federal government will implement one for Michigan residents. This will impact Michigan employers and individuals.
Smartphone usage has skyrocketed in the past few years. Physicians are no exception to the trend - with more than 81% of physicians using smartphones. Disturbingly, the number of health data breaches has risen in tandem with increased smartphone usage, and most experts agree that the increase is no coincidence.
Recent reports have indicated that 96% of all health care organizations have experienced at least one data breach during the past two years. Although the report did not detail the number of data breaches attributable to mobile devices, there is agreement that the widespread use of mobile devices is putting patient data at risk.
On December 7, 2011, the final rules for Speech-Language Pathology were filed with the Michigan Secretary of State. Among other things, the final rules require that any person who intends to practice speech-language pathology in Michigan must be licensed by December 7, 2013. The rules also detail the requirements for licensure and give deference to individuals who have been certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
For more information about the licensure requirements for speech language pathologists and to obtain a copy of the current licensure application packet, please contact one of the health care law attorneys at Foster Swift.
