Headaches and Pitfalls in Business Associate Contract Management

I just did a presentation I’m going to be expanding upon for at least the next several months, about some of the problems I already see emerging in coordinating among Covered Entities, Business Associates and Subcontractors – and others – in complex arrangements. The problem is that the Business Associate regulations and Business Associate Contract requirements are not actually well-integrated (even though the Business Associate Contract requirements are part of the same set of rules, of course), and there are a number of obligations and requirements which have to be passed-through from Covered Entity to Business Associate, to Subcontractor/Business Associate, to Subcontractor/Business Associate, to . . . well, you get the idea.

The presentation, which you can download by clicking here: 2013 ABA eHealth BAs, includes some diagrams which give you a sense of the potential complexities and some of the key problem areas. There don’t appear to be any magic bullets for the issues – just recognition, analysis, careful contract drafting, communication among trading partner, and negotiation. And OCR might provide some clarifications and revisions in some areas, too.