Health Law Pointers - Volume XXI, No. 1

NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Lawrence M. Ross
[email protected]

As a public service, we are pleased to present this issue of our health law newsletter addressing the legal concerns of health practitioners. The primary purpose of this newsletter is to provide timely educational information and commentary for our clients and subscribers. In some jurisdictions, newsletters such as this may be considered: Attorney Advertising.
 
If you know of others who may wish to subscribe to this free publication, please feel free to forward it. If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an e-mail or call the Editor, Lawrence M. Ross, at (716) 849-8900. Special thanks to our colleagues, Larry E. Waters; Katherine L. Wood; and Law Clerk, Jack Bargnesi for their contributions to this issue.

New York Expands Its Telemedicine Regulations
By Nicholas A. Pusateri, Esq.
 

Recent amendments to the New York State Office of Mental Health’s (OMH) Telemental Health Services regulations, enacted this month, aim to improve access to mental healthcare. The amended regulations added more categories of mental health professionals approved by OMH to provide care to mental health patients through “telehealth.” Telehealth means providing healthcare to patients—remotely—by phone, videoconference, Facetime or similar means.
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Another New Sexual Harassment Prevention Law: What Employers Need to Know
By Katherine L. Wood, Esq. and Jack Bargnesi, Law Clerk

Governor Cuomo is expected to sign another sexual harassment prevention bill into law in the imminent future. Like last year’s newly-enacted law, bill SB 6577 will further amend the New York State Executive Law and is intended to strengthen employee’s protections against sexual harassment in the workplace. However, this bill has significant implications for employers, particularly in the event a discrimination/harassment claim is brought by an employee. Here are some key points that employers should keep on their radar as we wait for bill SB 6577 to become law:

• The bill not only increases protections relative to sexual harassment, but also expands its protections to all protected classes under New York State Executive Law such as race, sex, and religion.
• The bill expands the definition of employer to all employers in New York State. Previously, only employers with 4 or more employees were considered employers under the New York State Executive Law.

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Update to the SHIELD Act
By Larry E. Waters, Esq.
 

In our December 2017 issue of Health Law Pointers, we informed you that the New York State attorney general introduced introduced a proposal for new legislation titled the “Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act” (the “SHIELD Act”). At the time of our December 2017 edition, the legislation was merely introduced and had many steps to overcome before becoming a law in New York State. 

Recently, the New York legislature passed the SHIELD Act and is currently awaiting the Governor’s signature. There is strong speculation that the Governor will sign the SHIELD Act into law. Given the likelihood of the Governor’s signature, we wish to remind you of some of the important changes the SHIELD Act will have on New York law.
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