CMS and the HHS Office of Inspector General announced final rules today defining the circumstance under which healthcare providers may accept free information technology in support of electronic health records and electronic prescribing.

The new rules, which will be published in Federal Register in the next few days, provide "safe harbors" from prosecution under current prohibitions governing physician self-referrals and kickbacks from others in the health industry.

The regulations may be good news for the industry, but they are complicated because the federal government is extremely concerned about the possibility of abuse.

Navigating the New Safe Harbors for E-Health Records and E-Prescribing can explain what to expect from the new safe harbors and how to take full advantage of the new rules.

Participants will be briefed on both sets of rules, including:

• What Technology Is Covered
• The Standards That The Donated Technology Must Meet
• Determining What Technology Is Necessary For A Recipient
• Permissible Donors
• How Recipients May Be Selected
• Determining The Value Of Protected Technology
• Determining When Equipment Is Used Solely For The Purposes Covered Under The Safe Harbors

And much more

The Faculty

John R. Christiansen, Esq. is a principal in Christiansen IT Law, where he focuses on healthcare information technology. He is the Co-Chair of the American Bar Association's Committee on Healthcare Privacy, Security and Information Technology and past Chair of its Healthcare Informatics Committee.

Bruce Merlin Fried, Esq. is a partner with Sonnenschein, Nath and Rosenthal, LLP. Bruce serves as General Counsel to the eHealth Initiative and the Health Technology Center. A former HHS official, Bruce served as the Health Care Financing Administration's (now CMS) Director of the Center for Health Plans and Providers where he was responsible for policy and operations for the Medicare program. Prior to that, he was director of HCFA's Office of Managed Care.

Who Should Attend

• Healthcare Management Executives
• Healthcare IT Managers
• Pharmacy Managers
• HIPAA Privacy & Security Officers
• E-Prescription Vendors
• EHR Vendors
• Risk Managers
• Health Information Management Professionals
• Healthcare Providers
• Medicare Contractors
• Researchers
• Health Plans
• Clearinghouses
• Prescription Drug Discount Sponsors
• Pharmacy Benefit Managers
• Drug and Device Manufacturers
• Healthcare Lawyers and Consultants