The Health Lawyer - April 2021

Health

Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination for Healthcare Workers: A Medical, Ethical and Legal Overview for Healthcare Systems and Employers

By M. Hamza Habib, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, MRCP, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ / Rutgers Law School, Newark, NJ and Hayley Penan, JD, MPH, State of California Office of Legislative Counsel, Sacramento, CA

Recent data has shown significant apprehension in healthcare workers (HCWs) about receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. This has led to low initial vaccination rates among HCWs.

Health

Navigating Crisis Standards and Scarce Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

By Katherine M. Dru, Esq., Centura Health, Centennial, CO, Alicia W. Macklin, Esq., Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, P.C., Los Angeles, CA, and Andrea L. Frey Esq. and Maydha B. Vinson, Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, P.C., San Francisco, CA

As hospitals throughout the United States confronted a disastrous “third wave” of COVID-19 patients this past winter and into the early spring, the specter of rationing scarce medical resources — such as ventilators, medications, staff, and ICU beds

Health

Food Regulation and the Nondisclosure of Ingredients: Ignorance is Not Always Bliss

By Raila Cinda Brejt, J.D. Candidate, Class of 2021, Fordham University School of Law, New York, NY

In September 2017, Laura, 53, was on her third battle with Clostridium Difficile (c-diff.), a bacterium that causes gastrointestinal disturbances and potentially deadly inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.

Federal Action against EHR Vendors Continues

By John Jay Kenagy, Ph.D., J.D., Senior Vice President / Chief Information and Administrative Officer, Legacy Health, Portland, OR

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to use all of its legal tools to address fraud in the electronic health record (EHR) industry.