Bradley Partner Dan Murphy Quoted in Law360 on Health Tech Trends to Watch in the 2020s

Bradley attorney Dan Murphy was quoted in Law360 on the health care technology trends that are expected to test the restrictions of anti-fraud statutes, patient privacy laws and health insurance reimbursement in the 2020s.

“Technology will continue to transform health care delivery and payment systems,” Murphy explained. “Across all aspects of health care law, the existing regulatory structure will prove ill-suited to rapidly shifting approaches to providing and paying for health care.”

“Legislators, regulators and judges will be required to adapt outmoded health care law to emerging industry realities,” he added.

One of the major evolving realities is the spread of artificial intelligence tools, which are often the secret sauce in clinical decision support software.

Murphy warned of AI pitfalls ahead, saying that some health technology systems or developers may end up having the unlawful purpose of inducing patient referrals or the unlawful intent of facilitating improper billing.

“Can artificial intelligence, or its creators, violate the ‘one purpose’ test under the Anti-Kickback Statute? Can an algorithm, or its programmers, have prohibited intent under the False Claims Act?” Murphy asked.

Finally, changes in health care technology are projected to lead to changes in health care payments now that drone deliveries of prescription medications are becoming increasingly popular.

Murphy said that the developments may spark discussion about how special billing codes, technically known as CPT codes, should be created to pay for medication deliveries via drones.

“Lawyers in the 2020s will grapple with these and many other novel issues brought to the fore by technological developments,” Murphy said.

The complete article, “Health Tech Boom In 2020s Will Test Fraud, Privacy Laws,” first appeared in Law360 on January 14, 2020. (login required.)