Steven J. Fox, Esq. Shifts Innovative, National Information Technology Practice to Post & Schell, PC

WASHINGTON, May. 13 /PRNewswire/ --

He will continue to be Washington-based after leaving Pepper Hamilton LLP

WASHINGTON, May 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Steven J. Fox, Esq., who since 1990 has helped shape the rapidly-expanding and increasingly vital practice of law as it relates to health information technology, is the latest lateral Partner to join Post & Schell, P.C., after heading the healthcare informatics team as a Partner at Pepper Hamilton LLP, Post & Schell CEO Brian M. Peters, Esq. announced today. Fox will Chair the Firm's new, national Information Technology Practice Group out of its Washington, D.C. Office.

"Steve Fox has long been synonymous with excellence in this highly complex and influential field of law and we are incredibly fortunate to have him practicing at Post & Schell," explained Peters. "Our wide array of industry clients, as well as some of the nation's leading for-profit and not-for-profit health systems, will greatly benefit from Steve's depth and breath of experience, as will every business we represent that collects, stores and distributes data. He is a superb and timely addition to Post & Schell."

Fox, a prolific author and lecturer on a broad spectrum of issues involving the intersection of technology, intellectual property, personal privacy and policy, is a widely-regarded authority on the federal Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the important and diverse role it plays in healthcare delivery and administration.

"Post & Schell is a premier firm servicing the healthcare industry, and it has a well deserved reputation for being client-focused and a solutions provider," commented Fox. "The Firm's own commitment to the highest levels of practice technology across all departments is one of many reasons I felt comfortable making this practice transition."

Fox, who was on the leading edge of healthcare technology as an area of legal concentration nearly two decades ago, continues at the forefront of the core areas of healthcare informatics practice that are now a mainstay of the industry. These include, but are not limited to, the full range of complex healthcare information systems, contracting models, e-commerce, and privacy, including all aspects of HIPAA. In counseling many leading organizations, Fox has been directly responsible for:

    --  Serving as outside counsel to organizations working to establish
        Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) and Health Information
        Exchanges (HIEs) to permit the sharing of medical information among
        hospitals, physician offices, clinics, labs, imaging centers, payers and
        patients.
    --  Advising clients on the legal implications of establishing and
        maintaining RHIOs and HIEs, including the impact of privacy and security
        issues and Stark and Anti-Kickback regulations on the donation, adoption
        and sharing of electronic health record systems (EHRs).
    --  Drafting and negotiating major healthcare information technology
        clinical information system contracts (including PACS agreements),
        ranging from $7 million to $100 million, on behalf of numerous
        multi-entity health systems.
    --  Drafting and negotiating a transfer agreement and related license
        sharing agreements in connection with a 50-plus healthcare system's
        acquisition of five hospitals.
    --  Drafting and negotiating all technology transfer agreements on behalf of
        a major regional healthcare system during its multi-million dollar
        acquisition of a university hospital system.
    --  Drafting and negotiating outsourcing contracts for an HIT consulting
        firm to manage and operate information systems departments of hospitals
        throughout the country.
    --  Advising health care systems in connection with serious disputes with
        HIT vendors in connection with license and outsourcing issues, and
        negotiating win-win outcomes.

Fox is co-author of Guide to Medical Privacy and HIPAA, published by Thompson Publishing Group in Washington, D.C. Beginning in 2000, for almost five years, he wrote a monthly "Q&A" column dealing with HIPAA at www.HIPAAdvisory.com. He also is a co-author of Guide to Establishing a Regional Health Information Organization, which was published in February, 2007 by HIMSS.

He is admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia and is active in many legal profession and healthcare industry organizations, including the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), as an advisory board member; the Pennsylvania eHealth Initiative (PAeHI), as an ex-officio board member and vice chair of the Policy Committee (dealing with privacy/security issues regarding EHRs); the HIMSS RHIO Federation Workgroup and the Maryland HIMSS chapter. He is also a member of the American Health Lawyers Association, American Bar Association and the Maryland State Bar Association. Fox received his undergraduate and law school education at the University of Maryland.

Fox can be reached via email at sjfox@postschell.com or at 202-661-6940. The Firm's D.C. office is located at Suite 600, 607 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20005-2006.

CONTACT: Brian M. Peters, Esq., +1-215-587-1045, bpeters@postschell.com, or Diane Roka, +1-215-587-5937, droka@postschell.com, both of Post & Schell, PC