End of Year Attention to Health IT and Digital Health Tools in 21st Century Cures

On December 7, 2016, the US Congress approved the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures legislation), which is intended to accelerate the “discovery, development and delivery” of medical therapies by encouraging public and private biomedical research investment, facilitating innovation review and approval processes, and continuing to invest and modernize the delivery of health care. The massive bill, however, also served as a vehicle for a variety of other health-related measures, including provisions relating to health information technology (HIT) and related digital health initiatives.  President Barack Obama has expressed support for the Cures legislation and is expected to sign the bill this month.

The HIT provisions of the Cures legislation in general seek to:

  • Reduce administrative and regulatory burdens associated with providers’ use of electronic health records (EHRs)
  • Advance interoperability
  • Promote standards for HIT
  • Curb information blocking
  • Improve patient care and access to health information in EHRs

As public and private payers increasingly move from fee-for-service payments to value-based payment models, with a focus on maximizing health outcomes, population health improvement, and patient engagement, HIT—including EHRs and digital health tools—will be increasingly relied upon to collect clinical data, measure quality and cost effectiveness; assure continuity of care between patients and providers in different locations; and develop evidence-based clinical care guidelines.

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Daniel F. Gottlieb
Daniel F. Gottlieb counsels a wide range of health care industry clients, including health care providers, health plans, health information technology (IT) vendors and life sciences companies. He represents these entities on health IT acquisitions, privacy and data protection, reimbursement, fraud and abuse, and other health care regulatory and transactional matters. Daniel is a co-leader of the Firm’s Global Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice. Read Daniel Gottlieb's full bio.


Jennifer S. Geetter
  Jennifer S. Geetter advises global life sciences, health care and informatics clients on legal issues attendant to biomedical innovation, research compliance, financial relationship management, digital health practices, and global privacy and data security laws. Jennifer represents a broad range of clients. Read Jennifer Geetter's full bio.


Karen S. Sealander
Karen S. Sealander focuses her practice exclusively in the health sector. She has more than two decades of experience representing and counseling health care providers, health insurance plans, integrated health care delivery systems, professional associations of health care providers and others in the health sector on legislative, regulatory and legal matters. Read Karen Sealander's full bio.


Lisa Mazur
Lisa Mazur advises health care providers and technology companies on a variety of legal, regulatory and compliance matters with a particular focus on digital health topics, including telehealth, telemedicine, mobile health and consumer wellness. Lisa advises a variety of health care providers and technology companies involved in “digital health,” including assisting clients in developing and implementing telemedicine programs by advising on issues related to professional licensure, scope of practice, informed consent, prescribing and reimbursement. Lisa helps clients identify and understand the relevant legal issues, and develop and implement practical, forward-thinking solutions and strategies that meet the complex and still-evolving digital health regulatory landscape.  Read Lisa Mazur's full bio.


Scott Weinstein
Scott A. Weinstein provides legal counsel on health care regulatory compliance, contracting and transactional due diligence, with a focus on health information privacy and security, Medicare and Medicaid's health information technology and quality reporting requirements, and clinical research regulations. Scott additionally provides legal counsel on federal and state privacy and data protection laws, with a focus on privacy audits and the development of internal and externally facing privacy policies for websites and mobile applications. Read Scott Weinstein's full bio.

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