Kathrin Kudner Quoted in Law360 Article On CVS Rewards Program Controversy

Kathrin E. Kudner, an Ann Arbor-based member in Dykema’s Health Care Practice Group who focuses her practice on representing health care providers and payors in various corporate and regulatory matters, is quoted in an article—“CVS Makes A HIPAA Mess With Murky Rewards Program”—that appears in the August 28, 2013 issue of Law360, the leading online provider of news and analysis on business law.

The article discusses the recent controversy about a CVS program, CVS’s ExtraCare Pharmacy and Health Rewards initiative, which reportedly provides a financial incentive to customers in exchange for their consent for CVS to use their personal health information. Opponents of the CVS program have raised issues whether the program violates the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Kudner is unable to evaluate the compliance of the CVS program without knowing all the facts but commented that the matter underscores the importance for health care companies not only to be fully compliant with HIPAA but to provide full disclosure and transparency with the individuals they serve.

“Companies should always make sure that patients are fully informed of what’s happening to their data,” Kudner advises. “The more transparent you are to an individual means the more informed their authorization is, and the less likely they are going to be to challenge what you do.”