The Anonymouse Law Blogger Opinionistas Goes Public

The WSJ.com Law Blog reported yesterday and today that Opinionistas, the anonymous law firm blogger that I previously mentioned in this post has gone public.

Opinionistas, 27-year-0ld Melissa Lafsky, created a stir over the last year with her anonymous blog detailing life as an associate in a large New York law firm.

WSJ.com Law Blog also points to an article appearing in today’s New York Observer story by Anna Schneider-Mayerson.

Technorati Tags: Opinionistas, Opinionista, Blogger, law

Governor Manchin's 2006 State of the State Address

I missed tonight's live state of the state address because I was busy putting kids to sleep -- but thanks to technology you can check out the video replay or read the full text version on the Governor's Office website. There are also copies of the 2007 budget overview in powerpoint and pdf.

Governor Manchin's address paid tribute to the miners lost at the Sago Mine and recognized the loss experienced by most West Virginians over the last couple of weeks. Following is a text except from his speech: topic:

It has been a difficult week in our state. Just seven short days ago, we lost 12 hardworking and brave West Virginians; men who left their homes each day knowing the inherent difficulty and danger of the jobs they performed and men who were proud to provide for their families, proud to be a West Virginian and proud of the energy they produced to keep America strong.

We cannot know the purpose of this tragedy - but I assure you we will discover the cause. I am committing every resource available to me to aid in the investigation - not only to determine what happened inside the Sago Mine that caused this terrible accident, but also how the information received outside of the mine regarding the condition of the miners could have been so horribly wrong. Families should never be put through such a heartbreaking, emotional nightmare. Even more important, I rededicate myself and the State to the task of making our mines the safest in the country so that we can avoid future tragedies like the one we have just experienced.

Our prayers as a state are with the families of Thomas P. Anderson, Alva Martin Bennett, James Bennett, Jerry Groves, George Junior Hamner, Terry Helms, Jesse L. Jones, David Lewis, Martin Toler Jr., Fred Ware Jr., Jackie Weaver and Marshall Winans. During the coming days, we will continue as West Virginians to do what we do best - come together in support of our neighbors. We did this when the disaster of Hurricane Katrina hit the people living in the southern states of America, and we do it again now for our own. I want to thank the thousands of West Virginians who have donated goods, as well as their hard-earned money, to the miners' families over the last several days. Words cannot express to you how proud I am to be Governor of a State that is home to such amazing people. I also want the miners' families to know that the support that we offer will be ongoing. And so, my office is joining with the West Virginia Council of Churches to establish a "Lifeskills Account" for the immediate family members of the victims. To demonstrate the importance of this effort, my office will be contributing $100,000 from the Governor's Contingency Fund to this account. These men were working hard to provide a good living for their loved ones, and we must continue their efforts.

The money donated to this account will provide for traditional educational opportunities plus any trade or technical field training that they may wish to obtain in order to expand their knowledge and gain the skills needed to support themselves and their families, no matter what their age. We want them to know that we will be in this with them through their long journey. I would like to now thank the Reverend Dennis Sparks with the West Virginia Council of Churches for agreeing to administer this very special account on our behalf. Reverend Sparks, please stand and be recognized.

Many times during the rescue efforts you heard me say that West Virginians believe in miracles - and we do. While we didn't receive the 13 miracles we were praying for, we did receive one - Randal McCloy Jr. It is my hope that he can one day tell us his miracle story and the stories of his friends and co-workers. So let us also remember his struggles tonight and send him, his wife Anna, their two children, Randal III and Isabelle Hope, and their entire family our prayers and love as well.

During our time of crisis, the nation has been watching. They have learned a great deal about West Virginia values and our belief in family, faith in God and the love of our neighbor. In addition, they've learned a great deal about mining families and their strength, work ethic and sense of community - there are no better people on the face of this earth.

Governor Manchin's address focused on a number of health care related issues including the announcement of proposed legislation for a statewide Health Information Network coordinated with HEALTHeWV. Following is a text except on this topic:

And, as a follow up to an initiative that was started during last year's State of the State address, we will form, through legislation, a statewide Health Information Network. With this network, West Virginia will become a national leader in the conversion to electronic health records - which it is predicted will result in an increase in healthcare quality and the type of dramatic cost savings that can significantly impact the state's budget. In addition, as part of this overall electronic medical records initiative, the state will also coordinate with HEALTHeWV, an electronic medical records program supported by Senator Robert C. Byrd and managed by the National Technology Transfer Center at Wheeling Jesuit University.

As previously announced by the Governor he also mentioned his desire for a more streamlined and practical medical billing system in West Virginia.

I am also committed to working with hospitals and providers on achieving some form of an integrated medical billing system in West Virginia. It makes no sense to me that when you have a medical procedure performed at a hospital or clinic, they can't tell you upfront what it's going to cost. Then after the procedure is performed, you don't receive a complete bill and, if you're like me, you have no idea what the total cost was. This is the only service that I know of in America that operates under these billing procedures. Now is the time for us to change this process.

Ohio HIPAA Preemptions Decision on Patient-Physician Privilege

Interesting HIPAA preemption appellate decision out of Ohio finding that the Ohio physician-patient privilege statute preempts HIPAA since it provides greater protection to patient privacy.

The decision in Grove v. Northeast Ohio Nephrology Associates (Ohio Ct. App., Nos. 22594, 22585, 12/26/2005), involved a malpractice claim for damages where the plaintiff was injured in a car accident by a patient who had just had dialysis treatment at the facility. The claim asserted that the dialysis provider was negligent in letting the patient drive following treatment and sought the non-party medical records of the patient. The dialysis provider objected to producing the records relying on Ohio's patient-physician privilege statute.

Most interesting out of this decision is the fact that the dialysis provider could have provided the information under HIPAA since a court order had been issued requiring the production of the information. The decision highlights that the court order exception allowing disclosure under HIPAA without patient authorization is not a mandatory provision. The HIPAA court order provision states that a provider "may" disclose protected health information pursuant to a court order -- but does not say must disclose.

For more information on the decision and summary analysis of the decision check out the HIPAA Blog. Thanks to the HIPAA Blog for the tip on this decision.

WV Supreme Court of Appeals: Rule Changes

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals recently approved numerous amendments to various rules. Also the Court has made available for public comment other proposed rule changes.

Based on the information from the West Virginia Supreme Court website the following Rules have been amended:

• Amendments to Rules of Practice and Procedure for Family Court
• Amendments to Rule 26, Rules of Practice and Procedure for Domestic Violence Civil Proceedings
• Request for Comment on Proposed Addition to West Virginia Trial Court Rules (Rule 45 Preparation and Submission of Orders) (Note: public comment period ends January 30, 2006)
• Request for Comment on Proposed Amendment to Rule 14(b) of the Rules of Criminal Procedure (Note: public comment period ends January 30, 2006)
• Proposed Amendments to West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure for Magistrate Courts, Rules 5, 5.2 and 9 and Proposed Amendments to West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 40(a), (b) and (c)
• Amendment to State Bar Bylaws - ARticle III(A) Financial Responsibility Disclosure
• Amendment to State Bar Bylaw - Article II - Emeritus Attorneys' Pro Bono Participation Program

The Court also makes available various forms that lawyers might find useful in daily practice in West Virginia.

Philadelphia Inquirer - Editorial on HIPAA: A dose of bad medicine

Interesting editorial appearing in the January 6, 2006, edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer discussing the impact of pending litigation involving the "privacy rule" under HIPAA.

The editorial looks at ongoing litigation pending in federal court before the Third Circuit. The editorial brings back to the forefront one of the highly debated questions when the proposed privacy rule became final. The issue of whether patients should have the right to give consent for all releases of private health information vs. allowing the release of specific health information without obtaining consent. The final rule was modified removing the consent requirement and replacing it with a general rule that allows releases without prior consent in common situations where health information is needed by some third party (for those who understand HIPAA these are the "treatment, payment and health care operations" exceptions under HIPAA).

Thanks to Alan Goldberg via the American Health Lawyers Association Listserve you can also check out the Petition for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc in Citizens for Health et al. v. Michael O. Leavitt, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

West Virginia Ranks 3rd in Judicial Hellholes 2005 Report

West Virginia ranks 3rd on the American Tort Reform Association's "Judicial Hellholes 2005". Here is a correction to the summary of West Virginia after Ken Ward, Jr. at The Charleston Gazette, notified the ATRA of an error in the West Virginia section of the report.

According to the report here are the top 6:

1. Rio Grande Valley and Gulf Coast, Texas
2. Cook County, Illinois
3. West Virginia
4. Madison County, Illinois
5. St. Clair County, Illinois
6. South Florida

My favorite quotes about West Virginia appear on the second page of the report.

"West Virginia was a 'field of dreams' for plaintiffs' lawyers. We built it and they came."
West Virgina Judge Arthur Recht

"As long as I am allowed to redistribute wealth from out-of-state companies to in-state plaintiffs, I shall continue to do so."
Hon. Richard Neely

Thanks to InhouseBlog via the Association of Corporate Counsel for the tip on the new report.

RedOrbit Red Hot Blogs of the Day

Health Care Law Blog has been selected by RedOrbit as one of its Red Hot Blogs of the Day. Don't know how I was selected but I appreciate the recognition.

Here is a direct link to RedOrbit's Red Hot Blogs of the Day.

Here is an archive of RedOrbit's Red Hot Blogs of the Day.

Google 's Braille Logo

A topic from today's blogger-get-together was Google's use of braille for its logo. Here is the reason why -- courtesy of Scoble.

Charleston Area Bloggers

The Charleston Area Bloggers (not cloggers) met today at Taylor Books for coffee. Everyone enjoyed meeting each other. It was a diverse group of area bloggers from political blogger to IT blogger to health law blogger to photo blogger to random thoughts on a little bit of everything.

Below is a photo posted live at the event by Rick Lee of On Location With Rick Lee. Pictured from left to right are Will Stewart, Bill Gardner, Bob Coffield, Rick Lee and Stacey Abshire.

It was a bright spot in a day that was very somber for many West Virginians. A day that will be remembered by many West Virginians for years to come. Rick's photo tells the story better than any words. Some people in West Virginia got the first run of the Charleston Gazette and others got the second run.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the miners who lost their life and the citizens of Upshur County. Also a thanks to all West Virginian miners past and present that help to make the electricity that you and I take for granted. Everytime you turn on your computer remember where that power came from -- probably a miner in the United States.

Some interesting coal facts from the West Virginia Office of Miners', Health, Safety and Training.

• More than half of the nation's electricity is generated from coal.
• In West Virginia 99% of the generated electricity comes from coal.
• Coal provides the majority of electric power in 32 states.
• In the United States, the demand for electricity has increased 136% since 1970.
• National demand for electricity is expected to increase by another 24 percent by 2020.
• It has been estimated that 13 percent of the national power requirement is taken up by activities associated with computers and information technology.

Other posts about the event here and here.

Tags: miner, westvirginia, wv