The Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) was passed into law by Congress as part of the CARES Act earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While considered a relative success at its intended goal of temporarily preserving jobs during the pendency of the pandemic, the PPP ended its initial run with tens of billions of dollars left on the table and frustrated borrowers and lenders because of opaque and frequently changing rules and regulations ...
Governments around the world are thinking about encouraging data sharing on a larger scale by using regulation. In the EU we have the EU Data Act, which will take effect in 2025 so is fast coming around the corner. It’s a juggernaut, and once it hits things may never be quite the same again. So what effect will it have? A recent CJEU ruling illustrates some of the problems it is likely to cause ...
A campaign that ran throughout March has been extended into April, and will focus on refurbishment, repair and maintenance works. Statistics show that more than half of workers who died on construction sites in recent years were working on refurbishment projects ...
Norway has biobanks and health registers that from a world perspective are practically unique. We frequently use metaphors like "silver heirlooms" and "the new oil". The test nevertheless consists in whether the Norwegian research environments are successful in commercializing their research, and the commodities require a correct processing. The Lifandis StoryLifandis AS (former Hunt Biosciences) managed Norway's most valuable biobank and its data; the so-called HUNT collection ...
Executive summary The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges for smaller hospitals and health systems. It has presented significant challenges to smaller, less capitalized and otherwise distressed healthcare providers. In terms of operating performance, half of our country’s hospitals reported negative margins as Q1 of 2020 ...
While buzzwords like consolidation and price transparency continue to dominate headlines, major players throughout the healthcare ecosystem are working tirelessly behind the scenes to deploy creative and complex service methods that leverage a smarter, more holistic approach to care. The goal? Control escalating costs and deliver tangible value to patients – all while maintaining a healthy balance sheet ...
Governor Mike DeWine signed Ohio House Bill 81 on June 16, 2021, codifying a significant change regarding eligibility for temporary total disability benefits (TTD) under Ohio Revised Code §4123.56(F). By enacting R.C. §4123.56(F), the legislature intended to leave behind decades of case law concerning the doctrine of voluntary abandonment ...
Our latest article in the series looking at the impact of the pandemic on different groups focuses on how COVID-19 has affected those within ethnic minorities, what this has meant for the BLM movement and what employers can do to better support employees. Impact of COVID-19 The latest statistics all point to the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected those within ethnic minorities ...
The negative impact of COVID-19 across the social and economic spectrum is undeniable. We reflect on the findings from the Social Mobility Commission and consider how employers can help give a much-needed boost to social mobility moving forwards. Research recently published by the Social Mobility Commission has given a snapshot of public perceptions of where and whom the pandemic has impacted most ...
As we get ready to turn the page to 2022, one hesitates to continue to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the fallout continues, with fresh ramifications for the long-term care industry. The industry continues to receive heightened scrutiny following the pandemic, and New York's legislative answer to the concerns are set to hit nursing home businesses in New York as of Jan. 1, 2022, with a cap on allowable profits. The impact on capital outlays and acquisitions remains to be seen ...
In its second tranche of major standards reduction, The Joint Commission will eliminate or consolidate 210 accreditation standards across many of its programs. The modification to the affected standards will be effective August 27, 2023. The reduction is part of a major review effort of Joint Commission requirements announced in September of 2022 ...
Did you know? The new Trade Marks (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 which came into effect on 19 June 2020 empowers the Registrar of Trade Marks to make the rules for implementing the long-awaited Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (the “Madrid Protocol”) in Hong Kong ...
Social determinants (or drivers) of health (SDOH) can create substantial barriers to an individual’s overall health and wellbeing. For example, several factors associated with economic hardship—lack of transportation, safe housing, or access to nutritious food, etc.—are highly correlated with poor health outcomes ...
Myriad Genetics is known as a leader in the market for diagnostic testing of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations that have been linked to breast and ovarian cancer. These same diagnostic tests were recently in the celebrity press, as Angelina Jolie announced she had been tested positive for the mutations, resulting in her electing to have a preventative double mastectomy ...
On March 3, 2020, Attorney General William Barr announced the National Nursing Home Initiative—a new U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) taskforce organized to push criminal and civil enforcement action against nursing homes across the country. The initiative will help coordinate DOJ enforcement actions against nursing homes that provide “grossly substandard care ...
Following publication of the Regulation (EU) No. 2015/2424 which is part of the reform legislative package that also replaces the existing Trade Mark Directive, the long awaited reform of the existing Community trade mark will enter into force on 23 March 2016. The most evident change is that the Community trade mark will be renamed the European Union trade mark (EUTM), adopting the terminology of the Lisbon Treaty ...
The Indonesian Minister of Health has issued Minister of Health Regulation No. 24 of 2022 on Medical Records (“MOH 24/2022”), under which the MOH requires all healthcare facilities to keep electronic medical records. MOH 24/2022 allows, among other things, cooperation between a healthcare facility and a third-party electronic organizer and covers who may have access to electronic medical records ...
The outbreak of COVID-19 comes on the back of an already tumultuous two years for the global economy, markets and trade where the US-China "trade war" and other trade tensions and macroeconomic factors have created uncertainty, commercial losses and subdued growth prospects ...
The underlying dispute relates to the MV «Cheshire» incident in 2017, where a cargo of fertiliser was subject to a major decomposition incident. The fertiliser that was carried on the vessel was damaged, and the vessel was declared a total loss. In February 2020, Oslo District Court ruled in favour of the cargo interests, holding the carriers liable for the cargo loss (approx. USD 25 million) (TOSLO-2017-180657-1). The carriers have appealed the judgement ...
In 2016, West Virginia had the highest death rate in the country from drug overdoses—primarily caused by opioids—at 52.0 for every 100,000 people.[1] The state was on track to exceed that number in 2017.[2] Seeking to enact policies that not only curb but reverse this upward trend, the West Virginia Legislature introduced a number of bills during the 2018 Regular Legislative Session that sought to address this disturbing epidemic. One of these, S.B ...
The Oberlandesgericht Celle has recently adopted a decision that is likely to be of particular interest to hospitals which are not, in principle, public contracting authorities within the meaning of the law, but which are used by public authorities to pay more than 50 percent for the construction of hospitals pursuant to Section 99, 4 of the GWB (decision ref. 13 G 8/16). In the decided case, the client planned to modernize a hospital in three construction phases ...
Few medical issues are as significant to an employee and an employer as major back surgery. The procedure incapacitates the injured worker for months and leaves the employer short staffed while the employee recovers. Additionally, these surgeries often do not result in the expected outcome, which leads to further impairment and expense ...
On April 18, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued revised guidance regarding exclusions imposed under section 1128(b)(7) of the Social Security Act ...
INTRODUCTION In a previous issue of Decoded, we discussed the alarming fact that many medical devices, including those implanted in patients' bodies, are leaving the manufacturers with known cybersecurity flaws. Due to these known flaws, these devices are vulnerable to being hacked, and patients’ personal/protected health information ("PHI") stolen; or worse, the device being held hostage in a ransomware attack ...
