Home » Headlines » Currently Reading:

Morning Headlines 12/9/13

December 8, 2013 Headlines 3 Comments

Progress on Adoption of Electronic Health Records

CMS proposes a one-year extension to the attestation period for Stage 2 Meaningful Use. Eligible providers who have completed two years of Stage 2 would begin Stage 3 in January 2017.

Epic hit with class-action lawsuit on overtime wages

A former Epic employee files a class-action lawsuit against Epic alleging that Epic employees are not paid overtime wages that they are entitled to.

Identity information of 1,300 Methodist Hospital transplant patients stolen

Houston Methodist Hospital is reporting that the data from 1,300 transplant patients was compromised when an encrypted laptop was stolen.

Russian diplomats accused of $1.5M Medicaid fraud

Dozens of Russian diplomats and family members are being charged with Medicare fraud after lying about their income so that the government would pay their healthcare bills.



HIStalk Featured Sponsors

     

Currently there are "3 comments" on this Article:

  1. This suit is frivolous. Epic QAers are salaried employees whose primary job function is software testing. Let’s review:

    Computer Employee Exemption
    http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/fs17e_computer.htm

    To qualify for the computer employee exemption, the following tests must be met:
    The employee must be compensated either on a salary or fee basis at a rate not less than $455 per week – check.

    The employee’s primary duty must consist of:
    …testing or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes – check.

    “Primary duty” means the principal, main, major or most important duty that the employee performs. Determination of an employee’s primary duty must be based on all the facts in a particular case, with the major emphasis on the character of the employee’s job as a whole – check.

    QA is definitely tasked with many things unrelated to software testing, but their PRIMARY DUTY remains QA. And they definitely make more than 24k/yr. So, they definitely meet the test. Case closed.

  2. You can only argue this way if you ignore the rest of the requirements:

    “The employee must be employed as a computer systems analyst, computer programmer, software engineer or other similarly skilled worker in the computer field performing the duties described below;”

    “Employees whose work is highly dependent upon, or facilitated by, the use of computers and computer software programs (e.g., engineers, drafters and others skilled in computer-aided design software), but who are not primarily engaged in computer systems analysis and programming or other similarly skilled computer-related occupations identified in the primary duties test described above, are also not exempt under the computer employee exemption.”

    I’d bold the part of the last sentence that says “but who are not primarily engaged in computer systems analysis and programming or other similarly skilled”, but I don’t know how. But I would.

    The regulation is only meant to cover programmers. QA doesn’t write code, so they aren’t programmers. Case closed.

  3. I really think this is just par for the course given the growth of Epic in the last few years. Its to be expected that there will be some litigation (with merit or with out) as Epic gains market share. This is not really the only thing that has come up of late. There is an Antitrust case related to, but not directly involving Epic going on in Idaho right now:

    http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/epic-ehr-system-a-focus-of-the-st-luke-s-antitrust-trial.html







Text Ads


RECENT COMMENTS

  1. It seems that every innovation in the past 50 years has claimed that it would save money and lives. There…

  2. Well, this is predicting the future, and my crystal ball is cloudy and cracked. But my basic thesis about Meditech?…

  3. RE Judy Faulkner's foundation wishes: Different area, but read up on the Barnes Foundation to see how things work out…

  4. Meditech certainly benefited from Cerner and Allscripts stumbles and before that the failures of ECW and Athena’s inpatient expansions. I…

  5. Yes, Meditech will talk your ears off about Expanse. There are multiple factors at play here which undercut both Meditech…

Founding Sponsors


 

Platinum Sponsors


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gold Sponsors