12 healthcare IT law attorneys you should know

12 healthcare IT law attorneys you should know

The U.S. healthcare system is incredibly complex, and it virtually all medical providers need more legal guidance, particularly as organizations move to digital records for patient care. Some health law attorneys specialize in a small subset of HIT issues, while others advise on a wide range of matters related to information technology and healthcare law. Here are brief profiles of 10 attorneys that demonstrate expertise in this segment of the industry.

1. Robert Belfort

Partner in the Manatt law firm in New York.
Email: rbelfort@manatt.com

With more than 20 years of experience in healthcare law, Belfort advises hospitals, medical groups, insurers, accountable care organizations, mental health providers, pharmacy chains, information technology vendors and trade associations. He is a specialist in Affordable Care Act, Medicare/Medicaid, HIPAA, state insurance licensing and market conduct laws. Belfort also performs risk assessments, develops compliance programs, conducts internal investigations and represents clients in government investigations and audits.

2. Howard Burde

Howard Burde operates Howard Burde Health Law LLC in Ardmore, Pa.
Email: howard@burdelaw.com

Burde provides general counsel and health law advice to information technology and healthcare businesses, providers and payers. He helps healthcare entrepreneurs and investors to build businesses covering transactional, joint venture, risk management, privacy/security, regulatory and licensing matters as well as capital formation and strategic development issues. Burde also serves health information exchanges, health plans, investors and government organizations.

3. Christopher Condeluci

Principal of CC Law & Policy in Washington, D.C.
Email: chris@cclawandpolicy.com

Condeluci’s legal and policy practice focuses on the Affordable Care Act and its impact on employers, health information technology companies and private health insurance exchanges. He previously served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, participating in development of the ACA including the insurance exchanges, insurance market reforms and new taxes enacted under the law.

4. Matt Fisher

Partner at the Mirick O’Connell Health Law Group in Worchester, Mass.
Email: mfisher@mirickoconnell.com

Fisher is the chair of Mirick O’Connell’s Health Law Group and a partner in the firm’s Business Group. Matt focuses his practice on health law and all areas of corporate transactions. Matt’s law practice includes advising clients with regulatory, fraud, abuse and compliance issues. With regard to regulatory matters, Matt advises clients to ensure that contracts, agreements and other business arrangements meet both federal and state statutory and regulatory requirements. Matt’s regulatory advice focuses on complying with requirements of the Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute, fraud and abuse regulations, licensing requirements and HIPAA. Matt also advises clients on compliance policies to develop appropriate monitoring and oversight of operations.

5. Linn Freedman

Partner and chair of the data privacy and cyber security team at Robinson & Cole in Providence, R.I.
Email: lfreedman@rc.com

Freedman practices in data privacy and security law, cybersecurity and complex litigation. She covers a range of industries with a focus on healthcare privacy and data protection regulatory requirements, including the sharing of substance use disorder information. Freedman also assists clients with employee awareness training, health information exchange and patient portal issues, among others, and in defending clients during enforcement actions by the HHS Office for Civil Rights. She also assists the Rhode Island Quality Institute, one of the first statewide health information exchanges.

6. Bruce Merlin Fried

Partner in the Dentons law firm in Washington, D.C.
Email: bruce.fried@dentons.com

Fried is a partner in Dentons’ health care practice. He counsels and represents health plans, physician organizations, hospital groups, consumer organizations, health information technology companies, and pharmaceutical and biotech companies. With more than 30 years of experience, he is often called on to offer strategic business advice to corporate executives.

7. Adam Greene

Partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Davis Wright Tremaine and co-chair of the health information group.
Email: adamgreene@dwt.com

Greene primarily counsels providers, technology companies and financial institutions on compliance with the HIPAA rules. He previously served as a HIPAA regulator in the HHS Office for Civil Rights, playing a fundamental role in administering and enforcing HIPAA. He has chaired the HIMSS Cloud Computing Workgroup, co-founded the Health Care Cloud Coalition, and is a frequent speaker and author.

8. Nancy Bonifant Halstead

Healthcare regulatory associate in the life sciences health industry group at Reed Smith in Washington, D.C.
Email: nhalstead@reedsmith.com

Halstead is an attorney in Reed Smith’s Life Sciences Industry Group, practicing in the area of healthcare regulatory and privacy law. Her practice focuses on counseling providers, suppliers, electronic health record companies, SaaS and cloud services vendors on compliance with HIPAA and state privacy laws. This includes responding to government investigations, structuring and negotiating data-sharing arrangements, and investigating and managing security incidents and data breaches. She also covers medical device, pharmaceutical and FDA issues, along with Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement.

9. Pam Hepp

Shareholder in the Pittsburgh office of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC.
Email: pamela.hepp@bipc.com

Hepp concentrates her healthcare practice on issues affecting large healthcare institutions with services including complex transactions, general counsel advice and regulatory issues. She has a specialized focus on developing a HIPAA compliance program with a track record of closing Office of Civil Rights investigations without action taken against clients.

10. Diana McKenzie

Partner with HunterMaclean in Savannah, Ga.
Email: dmckenzie@huntermaclean.com

McKenzie is a partner with HunterMaclean and chair of the information technology and outsourcing practice group. Other areas of expertise include corporate law, privacy and business litigation. She has extensive experience with issues unique to the healthcare technology industry and is a recognized writer and speaker, having given more than 150 speeches across the United States and in 14 other nations.

11. Tatiana Melnik

Attorney at Melnik Legal PLLC in Tampa, Fla.
Email: Tatiana@melniklegal.com

With a background in information technology and business, Melnik counsels on regulatory compliance and best practices covering a broad range of issues that include privacy/security, BYOD/Internet of Things, data breaches and data sharing, mobile health, telemedicine, quality improvement/analytics and clinical and disease registries. She serves providers, billing companies and vendors, including outsourced business associates.

12. Jeremy Sherer

Associate in the Boston office of Hooper, Lundy & Bookman PC.
Email: jsherer@health-law.com

Sherer’s practice focuses on aiding healthcare providers and suppliers on transactional and regulatory issues with an emphasis on telemedicine, healthcare technology and information privacy and security. He also covers commercial, Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement issues, scope of practice, state regulatory issues, strategic affiliations, fraud/abuse and accountable care organizations. Clients range from large hospital systems to physician practices.