Court hears oral arguments in Oregon prescription drug monitoring database case The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments earlier this month in a patient privacy case involving law enforcement access to Oregon’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). The California Medical Association (CMA) joined the American Medical Association and other western state medical associations in 2015 to file an amicus brief with the appeals court challenging the authority of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to obtain patients' private prescription records without a court order. In this case, the DEA sought patient-specific information from Oregon’s PDMP through the use of ... November 28, 2016 CMA, General CURES, Drug Prescribing, Privacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Tip: Smartphones in the office To protect patient privacy, develop a written policy on camera and smartphone use in the office. Although there is no law prohibiting a patient from taking photos or using mobile technology in a physician office, many practices implement office policies so that it is clear to staff and to patients what is allowed in the office and under what circumstances. For more information, see “Ask the Expert: Smartphones in the Office” available free to members in CMA's online resource library. Trouble getting paid? We can help! CMA’s Center for Economic Services ... November 7, 2016 General HIPAA Privacy Rule, Privacy, Tip of the Month 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA fights to protect patient privacy in CURES prescription database The California Medical Association (CMA) has filed an amicus brief with the California Court of Appeal in Alwin Lewis, M.D. v. Superior Court of the State of California, asking the court to give meaningful privacy protection to patient data collected in the Controlled Substance and Utilization Review and Evaluation Systems (CURES) database. In this case, a Medical Board of California investigator testified that the board routinely obtains confidential prescribing records from CURES for all patients of physicians subject to medical board investigations, even where the complaint is unrelated to the ... January 14, 2014 General CURES, Legal Advocacy, Privacy, Advocacy, Amicus Briefs 0 0 Comment Read More »
