American Health Lawyers Association's In-House Counsel Program and Annual Meeting

Health Care attorneys Shirley Morrigan, Heidi Sorensen, and Mark Waxman are speaking at the American Health Lawyers Association’s In-House Counsel Program and Annual Meeting, June 29, 2008 – July 2, 2008 in San Francisco, California.

Ms. Morrigan is speaking on June 29, 2008 from 10:40 a.m. – 12:10 p.m. with Shirley A. Jones, Senior Policy Analyst at Health Resources and Services Administration. Their program is titled “What’s of Interest at the National Practitioner Data Bank?” Topics to be covered include:

• Other data banks possible merger with NPDB
• Should you credential allied health professionals?
• Hospital access to allied health professionals information
• Corporate shield and reporting to the NPDB
• Mentoring healthcare professionals: A reportable event?
• Plaintiff’s lawyer access to the NPDB
• New NPDB query method

Mr. Waxman is speaking on June 30, 2008 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. with David Abelman, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel for Tufts Health Plan and Bruce R. Gilbert, Former General Counsel for Universal Health Services. Their program is titled “Legal Ethics: The Government’s Interest in Investigating In-House Counsel and Compliance Officers. This session will be repeated on July 1, 2008 from 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Topics to be covered include:

• The factual background and legal frameworkThe government’s claims and potential defenses
• Handling the pressure and the ethical concerns of in-house lawyers and compliance officersKey concerns in implementing corporate integrity agreements The lessons to be learned

Ms. Sorensen is speaking on July 2, 2008 from 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. with Felicia E. Heimer, Office of Counsel to the Inspector General at the US Department of Health and Human Services and M. Timothy Renjilian, Senior Managing Director at FTI Healthcare. Their program is titled “Obligations and Opportunities – Maximizing the Value of Your IRO.” Topics to be covered include:

• Understanding the role of the IRO (especially the dual responsibilities to OIG and provider)Deciding when to engage the IRO, issues to consider in choosing the IRO and negotiating the IRO engagement letter
• Benefits and implications of involving the IRO in CIA negotiationsOIG independence requirements (and implications of involving the IRO in CIA negotiations or CIA implementation tasks)
• Managing the IRO relationship: Practical tips for controlling costs of the IRO reviews, communications, getting maximum value from the IRO engagement and coping with OIG deadlines

For more information, please visit AHLA’s Web site.