Liz Heddleston helps a wide range of clients in the healthcare industry find practical solutions to legal challenges and navigate the complex legal landscape governing healthcare. She has a broad-based regulatory compliance practice with a strong focus on HIPAA compliance and health information privacy and security.
Liz is a trusted adviser to medical and dental practices, hospitals, long-term care facilities, federally qualified health centers, behavioral health providers, health plans, and other healthcare organizations. She counsels clients on regulatory compliance and corporate matters, including health information privacy and security issues, Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute compliance, contracting and transactional matters, state licensure issues, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, telehealth, peer review and credentialing, and corporate and medical staff governance.
A significant part of Liz’s practice focuses on cybersecurity incidents impacting healthcare entities, HIPAA compliance, and health information privacy and security. Liz is Certified in Healthcare Privacy Compliance (CHPC®) and provides strategic guidance on complying with healthcare privacy laws, including HIPAA, 42 C.F.R. Part 2, the Information Blocking Rule, and state data privacy laws.
As part of a comprehensive risk management strategy, Liz helps clients build and update their HIPAA compliance programs, including assistance with policy and procedures, security risk assessments, and staff training programs. She counsels clients on day-to-day privacy and security issues, and helps clients draft and negotiate Business Associate Agreements, data sharing agreements, and healthcare technology agreements.
Liz is regularly on the frontlines of HIPAA breaches and cyber incidents impacting health data. She advises clients on breach response strategies, notification and reporting obligations, and post-breach compliance and remediation. She has helped clients successfully resolve HIPAA complaint investigations and compliance audits conducted by the HHS Office for Civil Rights.
Liz has been included in the Virginia Rising Stars list in Health Care Law by Super Lawyers and has been named to Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Health Care Law. In 2022, she was named a Virginia Lawyers Weekly “Up & Coming Lawyer.”
A Bethesda, Md. native, Liz graduated from Davidson College with a B.A. in English and earned her law degree from William & Mary Law School (magna cum laude, Order of the Coif). Prior to law school, Liz worked for five years as a newspaper journalist in Lynchburg, Va. Liz is a founding board member of Huddle Up Moms, a Roanoke-based non-profit dedicated to improving maternal health outcomes and empowering mothers through education, connection, and support. Outside of work, she enjoys running, rock climbing, and spending time outdoors with her daughters.
Attorney Perspectives
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Open Registration: HR2023 Back on Track: WRVB’s 42nd Annual Labor & Employment Seminars
September 22, 2023 -
Tips for Healthcare Organizations Handling Negative Online Reviews
August 2, 2023 -
My Health, My Data Act: Washington State’s New Health Data Privacy Law Has a Nationwide Reach
May 31, 2023 -
The Information Blocking Rule: A Summary of Proposed Amendments
May 11, 2023 -
Reviewing Online Tracking Technologies Could Keep HIPAA-Regulated Entities Out of Hot Water
March 8, 2023 -
HIPAA Security Rule: What are “Recognized Security Practices” and why are they important?
November 10, 2022 -
Patient’s Right to Access Medical Records: HHS-OCR Targets Healthcare Providers Large and Small
February 19, 2021 -
Virginia Temporarily Relaxes Licensure Requirements for Health Care Professionals (Coronavirus and the Law)
April 24, 2020 -
Updated HIPAA Guidance on Disclosing Information about COVID-19 Patients (Coronavirus and the Law)
March 30, 2020 -
Patient Privacy and COVID-19 – A Summary of HIPAA Updates (Coronavirus and the Law)
March 23, 2020 -
CMS Develops New Billing Code for COVID-19 Lab Tests (Coronavirus and the Law)
March 17, 2020
Speaking Engagements
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Open Registration: HR2023 Back on Track: WRVB’s 42nd Annual Labor & Employment Seminars
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McGriff Insurance Seminar | Compliance Review: CAA Reporting & Beyond
April 18, 2023 -
Virginia Bar Association: 18th Annual Virginia Health Care Practitioners’ Roundtable | Understanding HIPAA to Maintain and Ethical Legal Practice
October 20, 2022 -
The Medical Advisory Group of Roanoke | The Information Blocking Rule
June 21, 2022 -
The Medical Advisory Group of Danville | The Information Blocking Rule
June 15, 2022 -
The Medical Advisory Group of Lynchburg | The Information Blocking Rule
June 8, 2022 -
Virginia Health Information Management Association Annual Conference | Protecting Patient Data from Cyber Criminals: HIPAA Compliance Strategies
May 12, 2022 -
Virginia Medical Group Management Association | The Intersection of HIPAA, Patient Privacy, and the Nosy Employee
March 23, 2021
Recognition
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Open Registration: HR2023 Back on Track: WRVB’s 42nd Annual Labor & Employment Seminars
September 22, 2023 -
Ten WRVB Attorneys Named “Ones to Watch”
August 17, 2023 -
Thirty-Seven WRVB Attorneys Named to 2023 Virginia Super Lawyers and Rising Stars List
May 1, 2023 -
WRVB Promotes Five to Principal
February 7, 2023 -
70 WRVB Attorneys Named to 2022 “Legal Elite”
November 29, 2022 -
Liz Heddleston Honored as an “Up & Coming Lawyer”
November 2, 2022 -
Ten WRVB Attorneys Named “Ones to Watch”
August 16, 2022 -
Eighteen Woods Rogers Attorneys Named to 2022 Virginia Super Lawyers or Rising Stars Lists
May 5, 2022