Medical Office Manager

HIPAA

5 lessons learned From 5 HIPAA fines in one day

By Danika Brinda bio The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hit a new record on Sept. 15, 2020—five HIPAA Fines with Corrective Action Plans in one day. The fines and corrective action plans had one main theme in common—not supplying patients with a copy of requested medical records in a timely fashion. The other thing of note … [Read more...] about 5 lessons learned From 5 HIPAA fines in one day

How to create a legally sound COVID-19 medical screening policy

 As essential workplaces, medical offices need to remain open and operating during the pandemic. At the same time, they need to ensure that employees practice social distancing and keep the infected and potentially infected away from the well. Like so many other companies facing the same challenge, you may be considering medically screening your employees each day before … [Read more...] about How to create a legally sound COVID-19 medical screening policy

Telemedicine calls for new etiquette guidelines

By Dr. Neil Baum bio COVID-19 has changed the playing field and methodology of caring for patients. We no longer will be seeing all our patients in our offices. Also, there has been a relaxation of the restrictions, such as HIPAA, for using telemedicine and now, or the first time, there are codes and reimbursements that make it possible to be compensated for virtual … [Read more...] about Telemedicine calls for new etiquette guidelines

AMA puts out telemedicine guide

The American Medical Association (AMA) has compiled a guide to help physicians get telemedicine up and running so they can safely care for patients. The telemedicine quick guide outlines the first steps to get started and lays out key considerations to implementing telemedicine and explains policy, coding and payment. Even if your practice didn’t use telemedicine before, it … [Read more...] about AMA puts out telemedicine guide

Before you let your employees work remote

By Paul Edwards bio In light of growing concerns surrounding coronavirus, many businesses are wondering if they will be faced with a decision to send employees home and/or close their doors for a period of time. One popular idea to address these concerns is to offer remote work (or ‘telework’) options. If you don’t regularly have remote workers, this may not be something … [Read more...] about Before you let your employees work remote

HIPAA enforcement takes a dramatic new direction

Historically, HIPAA enforcement has focused predominantly on the failure of covered entities to keep protected health information (PHI) private and secure; but now the scope is broadening to encompass keeping PHI too private and too secure. The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the agency that enforces HIPAA rules, has broken new ground by fining a Florida hospital for failing … [Read more...] about HIPAA enforcement takes a dramatic new direction

5 essential steps to ensure an effective HIPAA program

By Danika Brinda  bio HIPAA Compliance is a term that is often thrown around the healthcare industry; however, I commonly ask myself: Is the meaning of HIPAA Compliance the same throughout the industry? The answer is NO! Walking into a healthcare organization in the last month, the HIPAA Privacy Officer was excited to tell me that they are fully HIPAA compliant and … [Read more...] about 5 essential steps to ensure an effective HIPAA program

The ABCs of Provider Compliance: A necessity in today’s healthcare climate

The word "compliance" constitutes one of the most under-estimated forces of change in healthcare today. Kathleen Hessler, RN, JD, CHC, CHPC, Director of Compliance & Risk, Simione Healthcare Consultants, says, "It may be a buzz word in many organizations, but compliance typically means different things to the board of directors or executive team than it does to the managers … [Read more...] about The ABCs of Provider Compliance: A necessity in today’s healthcare climate