Meg Cosgrove, Jerry Tichner, Colin Zick
Co-editors, Health Law Reporter
Jerry, Colin and I are proud to bring you the Winter 2015 edition of the Health Law Reporter. The good news is that we can promise that this edition has nothing to do with the weather and will not comment upon the record snow or cold temperatures experienced by Boston this winter. Instead, this edition brings with it news of epic changes to the Massachusetts healthcare landscape as we move into spring. In this issue, George Leehan, Sarah Sossong and Nathaniel Lacktman cover the principal legal and regulatory issues associated with the current state of telemedicine in Massachusetts including licensure, scope of practice, credentialing and reimbursement issues. Jesse Alderman tackles the intricacies of physician certification of the medical use of marijuana for patients including the parameters associated with qualifying patients as having a “debilitating medical condition,” the requirements surrounding a physician’s certification that the benefits of medical marijuana outweigh the risks to the patient, and the criteria required to register as a certifying physicians with DPH. This article follows up on the Summer 2014 Reporter article discussing the legal issues confronted by Registered Marijuana Dispensary (RMD). Finally, Daniel LaPenta discusses the exposure of skilled nursing facilities to increased government enforcement due to the increase of Medicare-eligible beneficiaries from the “baby boom” generation.
We are also excited that Anna Gurevich from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center was able to spend some time with Tom O’Brien, the General Counsel of the Department of Public Health and the former Chief of the Health Care Division at the Office of the Attorney General. In her interview, Anna garnered insights from Tom regarding his role at DPH as well as his dedication to public service and the enforcement of the rule of law. This edition also includes summaries on two recent health law cases in Massachusetts—Barry Genereux, et. al. v. Raytheon Co. addresses employer responsibility for medical monitoring for employees exposed to dangerous substances and Robert Roe, et. al. v. Children’s Hospital Medical Center discusses whether a hospital owes a duty of care to allegedly abused future patients of a former physician employee.
On a final note, we wanted to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to our former co-editor, David Sontag from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for all of his hard work and dedication to the Reporter over the years.
Opinion Pieces:
Telemedicine in Massachusetts: What Providers Need to Know
By George Leehan, Sarah Sossong, and Nathaniel Lacktman
The Medical Use of Marijuana and Legal Issues Associated with Physician Certification of Medical Marijuana Use by Qualifying Patients
By Jesse Alderman
BOOM! Aging Baby Boomers are Set to Cause an Explosion in Government Enforcement and Health Care Fraud and Abuse Investigations of Skilled Nursing Facilities
By Daniel C. LaPenta
Policymaker Profile: Tom O’Brien
By Anna Gurevich
Health Law Case Briefs:
Robert Roe, et al vs. Children’s Hospital Medical Center
By Rachelle Rubinow
Genereux et al. v. Raytheon Co.
By Alysson M .Gray
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