Amanda Robert reports:
In recent weeks, it has been widely reported that Dr. Robert Taub will testify in the corruption case against New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
According to the Jan. 21 federal complaint, Taub referred his patients from the Columbia University Mesothelioma Center to the high-profile asbestos cancer law firm Weitz & Luxenberg, which employed Silver. These patients and their cases generated millions in referral fees for Silver, who in exchange, the complaint says, secretly directed state funding to Taub’s cancer center.
While it seems that Taub’s role as a government witness may have helped him avoid criminal charges, should he be held to standards agreed to by all medical professionals, particularly the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA?
Karen Porter, an associate professor of clinical law at Brooklyn Law School who also serves as executive director of its Center for Health, Science and Public Policy points out that HIPAA isn’t “extraordinarily protective of people’s information.”
Read more on The Legal Newsline.