As a medical office manager, ensuring the smooth operation of your practice involves a multitude of responsibilities. One crucial yet often overlooked task is the annual review of purchasing vendor contracts. This process is vital not only for maintaining cost efficiency but also for ensuring compliance, service quality, and adaptability to changing needs. Here’s why and how to … [Read more...] about Why and how to review vendor contracts annually
HIPAA
Model HIPAA Privacy Reminder to Reception and Other Staff
Why you need this memo: Your medical office staff understands the imperative of safeguarding personal health information (PHI) and wouldn't let strangers roam about the facilities freely. But it's easy for them to lower their guard when a former employee comes back to the practice, e.g., to pick up a final paycheck or just make a social call. How this memo helps you: This … [Read more...] about Model HIPAA Privacy Reminder to Reception and Other Staff
Could your organization’s website reveal your HIPAA non-compliance?
By Danika Brinda Did you know that your organization’s website can reveal to the world that you are out of compliance with HIPAA? A quick look at your organization’s website could reveal to a HIPAA auditor that your organization is struggling with HIPAA compliance. Wondering what I am referring to? The Notice of Privacy Practices! The regulations state that your … [Read more...] about Could your organization’s website reveal your HIPAA non-compliance?
Leveraging voice technology for streamlined operations
Voice technology, powered by sophisticated natural language processing and artificial intelligence, has emerged as a powerful tool that can revolutionize the efficiency and productivity of medical office management. Here are some ways in which voice technology can be harnessed to optimize workflow, improve patient interactions, and streamline administrative tasks. 1. … [Read more...] about Leveraging voice technology for streamlined operations
Integrating telemedicine into your practice
The healthcare landscape is evolving, and telemedicine has emerged as a transformative tool for medical practices to expand their reach, improve patient access, and provide high-quality care remotely. Integrating telemedicine services into your practice requires careful planning and execution, considering aspects like technology, staff training, patient communication, and … [Read more...] about Integrating telemedicine into your practice
10 basic steps to comply with HIPAA
HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a federal law that protects the privacy of individuals' personal and medical information. HIPAA is important for medical offices because it sets standards for the protection and handling of this sensitive information, which is critical to maintaining the trust of patients and ensuring the confidentiality of … [Read more...] about 10 basic steps to comply with HIPAA
4 ways your managed IT provider can help with HIPAA
Healthcare IT can best be explained as technology that allows the secure exchange of medical and patient information between healthcare providers, patients, insurers, and other administrative operations. With the rapid increase of healthcare companies adopting cloud technology to share files and store private data, the need to involve managed service providers to assure full … [Read more...] about 4 ways your managed IT provider can help with HIPAA
Patient right of access: Consequences are extreme if you get it wrong
By Suze Shaffer Patients’ right of access has extreme consequences if they are not handled properly. It starts the moment a patient makes this request. HIPAA prohibits unreasonable measures when patients are requesting access to their medical records. Most practices think this request must be in writing. Although this is ideal, sometimes it can cause a problem when the … [Read more...] about Patient right of access: Consequences are extreme if you get it wrong
Make someone responsible for HIPAA compliance and security
By Suze Shaffer Preventing data breaches and securing patient data is everyone’s responsibility, but the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) requires someone to be the point person. Make sure you have assigned a HIPAA Privacy Officer and a HIPAA Security Officer. Everyone in the practice needs to know who these people are by these titles. In a small practice it could be just one … [Read more...] about Make someone responsible for HIPAA compliance and security
Is our wart lady here yet? Respecting patient privacy and dignity
True story: A friend of a staff member here at Medical Office Manager, awaiting treatment at a general practitioner's office for a small but bothersome wart, heard this loud call into the crowded waiting room, "Is our wart lady here yet?" She changed doctors after that embarrassing experience. Calling patients into medical office examination rooms while protecting their … [Read more...] about Is our wart lady here yet? Respecting patient privacy and dignity