Honolulu Lawyers Serving Hawaii Health Care Providers
Honolulu, Hawaii Health Care attorney Nathan Natori currently represents hospitals (The Queen’s Health Systems, Kuakini Medical Center, Hilo Benioff Medical Center, Kona Community Hospital), Hawaii health care providers/groups and the Hawaii State Insurance Division.
We can guide you in forming Hawaii health care entities and in providing governance advice. In addition, we’ll help you with purchasing or selling existing Hawaii medical practices, taking into account Stark and federal fraud and abuse laws.
Hawaii Health Care Attorneys – Giving You Sound Advice From Experience
Our Hawaii health care legal services also include working with a health care entity’s national counsel in responding to governmental investigations. We also give you sound advice regarding Hawaii Health Care Governance functions issues such as: board fiduciary duties, policies, conflicts of interest, ad hoc investigative committees and establishing mechanisms to protect attorney-client communication and attorney work product. Finally, we prepare policies for the Hawaii medical facility such as Unclaimed Property Policies.
Here are some examples of the health care legal work we’ve performed for clients:
- Health Care Organizations: Answered Hawaii health care client’s regulatory questions on False Claims Act, Medicare-Medicaid Anti-Fraud and Abuse Amendments including Anti-Kickback Statute, Stark I and Stark II, Corporate Practice of Medicine, Private Inurement/Private Benefit, Intermediate Sanctions and HIPAA.
- Individual Practice Association: Representation of Hawaii 650 member-physician individual practice association (IPA) regarding Medicare, Medicaid, antitrust, federal tax-exemption, corporate, contract and litigation issues.
- Health Care Litigation: Multiple Defending health care organizations in litigation with physicians involving Anti-Kickback/Stark II and False Claims Act violations.
- Corporate Compliance Plan: Guided Hawaii hospital in conforming its corporate compliance plan to Hawaii law.
- Numerous Health Care Providers: Reviewed Physician Employment Agreements, Medical Director Agreements, sold hospital clinic to health care entity, sold health care practices of retiring health care providers to younger providers, organized individual practice association (IPA).
Hawaii HIPAA Attorney
Health Care Legal Guidance So You Meet the Law and Minimize Your Risk
Honolulu, Hawaii HIPAA Attorney Nathan Natori was local counsel at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP when he advised members of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) Readiness Collaborative (“HRC”) at the Hawaii Health Information Corporation (“HHIC”). Mr. Natori worked with HHIC in understanding and implementing the various federal HIPAA standards. Specifically, Mr. Natori provided HHIC with support for the following:
- Providing generic forms and checklists related to consents, authorizations, notices and business associate contracts, as well as identifying additional requirements and considerations for different types of covered entities.
- Identifying gaps and implementation risks in HHIC’s existing security and policy drafts and developing additional policies including medical research and the administration of research programs consistent with HIPAA requirements.
- Advising on preemption issues by conducting HIPAA preemption analysis of Hawaii law and providing advice on implementing HIPAA and non-preempted state laws.
- Providing guidance on “minimum necessary” standards and the release of information to police and other governmental agencies.
The Administrative Simplification provisions of HIPAA apply directly to “covered entities.” Covered entities are: (i) health care providers that engage in electronic HIPAA-covered transactions; (ii) health plans; and (iii) health care clearinghouses. HIPAA also affects covered entities’ business associates and employee benefit plan fiduciaries and plan sponsors, entities that themselves need not be covered entities.
The functions of each entity and component need to be identified to make a covered entity determination. It’s possible that a health system, or even a single entity, may be engaging in functions that would make it any combination of a provider, a plan, and/or a clearinghouse. Making these determinations at the start means you can create a comprehensive and systematic approach to HIPAA compliance in Hawaii and minimize your risks. Our attorneys can – and will – do that for you.
Respected Hawaii Health Care Lawyers Are Here to Help
Contact us today for a consultation on your Hawaii health care & HIPAA needs. We’ll give you every benefit of our years of experience.