Latest Blogs

IBM’s Facial Recognition Database: Dangers of Hyperbole (republished from HealthBlawg)

By David Harlow posted Thu April 11,2019
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I’m recovering from the hyperventilating hyperbole in the reportage of IBM’s labeling of a dataset of facial photographs and making it available to researchers to reduce bias in facial recognition. NBC News went with a headline that read:   Facial recognition’s ‘dirty little secret’: Millions of online photos scraped without consent . That might merit a “ pants on fire ” rating if it were in the realm of political reporting. The photos were not “scraped.” They were licensed. Licensed, not scraped The NBC story linked to IBM’s discussion of its work which, in turn, identified the dataset that it used. It is the one and only YFCC100M, a set of 100 ...
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Dial-a-Lawyer

By Nancy Yulfo posted Thu March 07,2019
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​ The Dial a Lawyer Program wants to thank the Civil Litigation Section Council Group for Sponsoring the DaL program yesterday evening March 6, 2019 Many thanks to the Civil Litigation Section Council Group for volunteering their time to providing Legal Advice to the public Paul J. Klehm Eric Finamore Maureen Reilly Nicholas Cappiello Kathleen O'Toole We also want to thank Alexis McLachlan James Benjamin Paul J. Toland Marie Grandoit Stephen Smith J. Daniel Silverman Samuel Segal Joseph Morrissey We would not have been able to provide this worthwhile public service program without your help. Once again, many thanks for your time and ...
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Pending Amendments to HIPAA Privacy, HIPAA Security, and the HITECH Act

By Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong posted Fri February 08,2019
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It is time to rework certain HIPAA provisions, which Covered Entities (CEs) -- and their Business Associates (BAs) – must implement according to data privacy and security policies and procedures.   While many CEs, BAs, other stakeholders continue to advocate for HIPAA Privacy Rule guidance on the frequency and scope of workforce trainings or necessity of written consents for photograph usage in treatment and clinical trainings, such longstanding issues will remain unsettled and subject to interpretation. However, other significant and more timely HIPAA/HITECH provisions are now under review and will be upgraded through the amendment process under the Office ...
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Amendment to Innocent Spouse Law

By Rita Ryan posted Fri January 11,2019
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On January 10, 2019 Governor Baker signed into law an amendment to the Massachusetts Innocent Spouse Law (GL c. 62C, § 84) which provides for more congruence with the Internal Revenue Code. Previously, the law provided only an up-or-down result based on four rigid factors, namely if: (i)                  the understatement is attributable to erroneous items of the other individual filing the joint return; (ii)                the individual seeking relief from the liability establishes that, in signing the return, the individual did not know, and did not have reason to know, that there was an understatement; (iii)              ...
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Nice Office Furniture Available for Sale

By Debra Smith posted Mon December 03,2018
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If you are a new lawyer who is opening a new law office or a seasoned attorney going out on your own, there is nice office furniture available for sale.   I am the Personal Representative of the Estate of John R. Hope.   Please let me know if you know of anyone who may be interested in the furniture, pictures and office supplies. Feel free to forward this to anyone who you think may be interested in any office furniture.  The furniture is available in Watertown, Massachusetts with 48 hours notice during the week and on Saturday mornings.  Please send me an e-mail with what office furniture that you are interested in and I will send you the price list and what ...
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B&B Hiring: Paralegal / Office Manager

By David Belfort posted Wed November 07,2018
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Bennett & Belfort is looking for a paralegal / office manager.  Please forward the below to anyone that might be qualified & interested.  Thanks so much, David Belfort Paralegal/ Office Manager (Cambridge) Boutique Cambridge employment and business litigation firm has immediate opening for a Paralegal/ Legal Assistant whose role also includes office management responsibilities. The position requires a self-motivated candidate with a positive attitude, excellent written and oral communication skills, organizational skills, and attention to detail. At least three years of law firm experience and a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent paralegal certificate ...
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Quality and Value-Based Patient Care is No Fixed Number

By Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong posted Mon November 05,2018
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Federal funding initiatives recognize nursing as a critical component in the delivery of quality patient care and value-based reimbursements to most hospitals.  Hospital stakeholders, such as nurses, collectively contribute to improved quality and performance while reducing costs through incentivized reimbursement methods under programs established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA, however, does not mandate nurse to patient ratios. Instead, it improves the delivery of healthcare by authorizing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement value-based programs that correlate hospital reimbursements to compliance ...
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Medically Complex Patients and the CMS CY 2019 Proposed Physician Fee Schedule

By Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong posted Tue August 21,2018
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has embarked upon landmark payment reform for providers (doctors and clinicians) under its CY 2019 Proposed Physician Fee Schedule.  Decreased physician paperwork and increased doctor/patient relations are CMS's purported objectives.  Even though that sounds reasonable, the impact on disadvantaged populations and providers who serve medically complex patients merits increased scrutiny. Does the CMS CY 2019 Proposed Physician Fee Schedule (i)  reflect the quality of care that specialized providers offer to Medicare beneficiaries with complex medical conditions; (ii) enhance a physician's ability to treat ...
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How to Save Real Money in a Divorce

By Anthony Adamopoulos posted Thu May 03,2018
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By: Anthony C. Adamopoulos, Divorce Arbitrator, Mediator and Collaborative Attorney ©2018 In every divorce there are non-law issues. Some are as basic as “Who gets the college chest”? or as complicated as “Where will the children primarily live”? Attorneys and smart parties are now using professional neutrals (also called coaches) to resolve those issues that are not distinctively legal in nature. A Financial Neutral expedites the process by analyzing the unique needs of your family, identifying tax provisions related to those needs and creating realistic plans to preserve family income and property. The Facilitator Neutral expedites the process ...
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Does anybody still care about primary care?

By David Harlow posted Sun April 15,2018
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Once the federales blocked the health insurance company mega-mergers, it was only a matter of time before alternative approaches to rearranging the three-dimensional chessboard of the healthcare-industrial complex would emerge. The approach du jour is the vertical merger. Horizontal combinations trigger the familiar antitrust reviews of market share and the orthodoxy of antitrust enforcement dictates that two insurers, selling the same product or service into the same market or markets, cannot merge if they will reduce competition as a result. The very idea of collapsing four of the five dominant national health care insurance companies into two was therefore ...
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R.I. hospital system joins Partners-Care New England merger talks

By Donald Whitmore posted Fri March 02,2018
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Lifespan, the largest hospital system in Rhode Island, says it has joined merger discussions between another health system in the state and Boston-based Partners HealthCare. https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2018/02/27/rhode-island-hospital-system-joins-partners-care.html The Largest Employers in Massachusetts Ranked by Total Mass. employees Rank Company Total Mass. employees 1 Partners HealthCare 58,004
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"Don’t say a word" | Confidentiality Clauses in Personal Injury Settlements

By Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong posted Wed February 28,2018
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Personal injury settlements in civil litigation are anticipated outcomes of meritorious claims. And, freedom of contract principles offer justifiable reasons for plaintiffs and defendants to work towards confidentiality of the settlement agreement. However, after settlement terms have been reached, subsequent confidentiality clauses unilaterally inserted as “material terms” circumvent quid pro quo, mutual assent, and bargained for consideration.  Generally it is the defendants who demand confidentiality,but purchasing plaintiffs' silence must come at cost. Confidentiality clauses in personal injury settlements should be negotiated as arms-length transactions. ...
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Indianaplois Bankruptcy attorney

By Claire Constantine posted Mon February 05,2018
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Dear List, Can anyone recommend a bankruptcy attorney for Indianapolis?  TIA Sincerely, Claire J. Constantine, Esq. Law Office of Claire J. Constantine 165 Washington Street Suite 203 Winchester, MA 01890 Tel. 781-729-1011 www.cjconstantinelaw.com The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access or use by any other person to this internet email is not authorized and may be unlawful. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete or destroy this email. If you do not wish to receive future emails from this sender, please reply directly to this email requesting you be removed ...
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ADA: Assisting d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals

By Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong posted Thu January 25,2018
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After over 25 years, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) continues to receive bipartisan support and offers fundamental reform protections that benefit our society and the qualified individuals it safeguards. The ADA is not an entitlement program for eligible individuals, such as Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security. Even persons living with hearing loss, for example, criticize the use of the terms ‘disabled’ and ‘hearing impaired’ to describe their medical condition, preferring less restrictive quantifiers, such as d/Deaf or hard of hearing.  Whether you have an interest in protecting individuals from discrimination in the work place, ensuring access ...
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Happening Tomorrow! Mental Health Issues in Criminal Law and Beyond 4-7PM at the MBA

By Georgia Critsley posted Mon January 08,2018
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Do you have questions about identifying clients who may have mental health issues? While many attorneys do not have a clinical or educational background that focuses on mental health issues, they often find themselves representing clients who suffer from mental health issues. This important program will feature Dr. Judith Edersheim of Massachusetts General Hospital, a joint J.D. and M.D., who will discuss representing and interacting with mentally ill individuals in the courthouse setting. Recently, Dr. Edersheim spoke to Massachusetts judges on this topic. At this program she will discuss practical skills and strategies to use when representing clients with ...
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FDA and Digital Health Regulation

By David Harlow posted Thu January 04,2018
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The FDA had a digital health banner day on December 7, announcing one final guidance and two draft guidance documents (with a 60-day comment period). Collectively, these guidances cover a range of digital health issues, and it is worth reading   FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s statement   about them as well as each individual document: Clinical and Patient Decision Support Software  (CDS and PDS) (Draft) Changes to Existing Medical Software Policies Resulting From Section 3060 of the 21st Century Cures Act  (Cures Act) (Draft) Software as a Medical Device: Clinical Evaluation  (SaMD) (Final) These publications come as part ...
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Saint Anthony Hospital Sues Leapfrog for 'inaccurate grade'

By Donald Whitmore posted Mon December 11,2017
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HealthcareIT News outlines the case in which Chicago-based Saint Anthony sued Leapfrog in November for giving the hospital an inaccurate grade.  Leapfrog in its response claims the grade is based on self-submitted data the hospital failed to review.  The Leapfrog Group is an independent, non-profit healthcare watchdog, that ranks hospitals for patient safety and other measures. Below is a link to this article. HealthcareIT News Article: Leapfrog Lawsuit
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Recognizing now more than ever a growing need for dispute resolution

By Michael Zeytoonian posted Tue December 05,2017
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As printed in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on December 4, 2017 Over the week of October 16-20, 2017, lawyers and dispute resolution professional celebrated national Conflict Resolution Week.  The Massachusetts Bar Association's Dispute Resolution Section presented five events with different focuses in different parts of the state.  More than 400 people attended, including judges, lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, students, parents, teachers, coaches, special masters, and interested members of the public.  Governor Charlie Baker issued a Proclamation recognizing October 19 as Dispute Resolution Day in the Commonwealth. The week's events focused on court-connected, ...
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2018 Medicare Open Enrollment - Closes on Dec. 7, 2017

By Lorianne Sainsbury-Wong posted Fri December 01,2017
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One week remains for the 2018 Medicare Open Enrollment process. Medicare Part A (inpatient hospital insurance) and Part B (medical insurance) beneficiaries may opt to enroll into a privately managed Medicare Advantage plan, e.g., health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and preferred provider organizations (PPOs) or private fee-for-service plans. Medicare is a federal healthcare program that benefits seniors and certain Congressionally recognized needy populations, such as persons living with a disability regardless of age. Although exceptions may apply for additional Medicare Advantage plan changes, as permitted by law under special enrollment or certain special ...
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The SJC Weighs in on Self-Adjusting Alimony Orders and Recipient “Need”: Young v. Young, Part 4

By William Levine posted Wed November 29,2017
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“Marital station, when?” In this entry, we will begin discussing how the   Young   case determines “need” in the context of alimony. We have long known that need is a relative term. “The standard of need is measured by the ‘station’ of the parties -- by what is required to maintain a standard of living comparable to the one enjoyed during the marriage.”   Grubert v. Grubert, 20 Mass. Ap.   Ct. 811, 819 (1985). This is sensible, given that marital station is fueled by the parties’ financial resources, generally income from employment or self-employment. For one couple, subsistence may characterize the marital standard; while country clubs, international ...
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