HHS: NPDB requirements still apply in states with DA&O laws

Physicians in states with disclose, apology and offer (DA&O) laws must still have payouts made on their behalf reported to the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the ruling in May, but few knew about it until mid-August when watchdog group Public Citizen followed up on the department's efforts to close alleged loopholes making DA&O-related payments nonreportable.

Language in Oregon’s DA&O law was designed to skirt NPDB reporting requirements, Public Citizen argued. The law states that a payment decided out of court does not result “from a written claim or demand for payment” and that a “notice of an adverse event” filed by a patient to start the prelitigation process does not represent a written claim or demand for money. Also problematic is Massachusetts’ DA&O law, which calls for injured patients considering a lawsuit to file a “prelitigation notice” and then wait a minimum six-month “cooling-off period” before they go to court.

Source: Fierce Practice Management