A new federal regulation is going to begin being enforced on April 5th, called the Information Blocking Rule. The compliance deadline for this rule was pushed back from an original enforcement date of Nov. 2020.  As of that date, all covered by the rule – healthcare providers, EHR vendors, and health exchanges – are required to comply with the Information Blocking Rule.  Information blocking generally means denying immediate access to patient records upon a patient’s request or by an authorized physician. An EHR company that may be holding records must make them immediately available as well.

It has come to our attention that some members are receiving notices from the Department of Health upon nonrenewal of their massage establishment (ME) license.  The letter asks you to sign a statement if you are relinquishing your license.  That statement reads that you, “agree to cease practicing immediately.”  The FCA is working with the DOH to try and rectify the language of this relinquishment statement which is otherwise misleading. Read on for steps to take in the interim. 

On January 28, 2020, the HHS Office for Civil Rights posted a notice regarding “Individuals’ Right of Access to Health Records.”  The notice was in reference to a recent court order entered by the United States District Court of the District of Columbia in the case of Ciox Health, LLC, v. Alex Azar, et al., No. 18-cv-0040 (D.D.C. January 23, 2020).  The Court’s opinion, which is heavy in its discussion of the application of the Federal Administrative Procedures Act, declared as unlawful HHS’s position with regard to the charging of fees for medical records directed to third parties.  The opinion also addressed the format in which medical records are directed to third parties. Of particular interest to covered entity medical providers and medical records copying companies is the Court’s opinion that HHS’s 2016 Guidance relating to the charging of fees for medical records directed to third parties is unlawful.

The 2019 Legislative Session passed a good bill on Human Trafficking which purpose is to reduce the significant human trafficking problem in Florida, the third leading state for it in the U.S.  All physician offices, massage establishments, and the hotel industry were impacted by the bill.  An unintended consequence of the bill impacts those chiropractic offices holding a massage establishment license. 

Florida's new human trafficking law requires healthcare professionals to learn about human trafficking to be able to better recognize it, and to educate their staff with signage in their office.  READ ALL ABOUT IT in the FCA Journal issue just mailed to all FCA members and which you should receive during the week of November 11th. The FCA has made it easy for members to comply.  Read on for more details and for access to the required poster/signage.

FDA and FTC Issue Warning Letters to Three CBD Companies

The ambiguities surrounding the use and distribution of CBD products is intense.  While several bills on CBD and Hemp move through the Florida Legislature to seek clarification and establish requirements in Florida, yesterday the FDA issued a statement announcing new steps and actions it is taking on the lawful marketing of appropriate cannabis and cannabis-derived products.   

FLORIDA’S ANSWER TO A FREE MARKETPLACE FOR TREATMENT BETWEEN DOCTORS, PATIENTS, AND EMPLOYERS!

If you haven’t read it yet, please read about the new, July 1, 2018, Direct Primary Care (DPC) law, in the April/May/June edition of the FCA Journal. Florida is now added to the list of only 16 states of the 25 states in the country with Direct Primary Care laws for chiropractic physicians. What does this mean? Now you are able to contract directly with patients and employers for a monthly set fee for services you agree upon, without the hassles of insurance. Is this true? Yes, the law specifically provides that these agreements are not insurance and you are not bound by Florida’s insurance laws.

“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” -- Sir Winston Churchill, following the Battle of El Alamein, 1942.

Following a proclamation of intention about a year ago, and nearly 12 months of anxious concern and speculation by employers, the United States Department of Labor has published the final rule regarding increased salary levels for exempt employees. The news is not as bad as it could be but it still represents a seismic change for employers. Here is what we know: