When should you do a risk assessment for a breach of PHI? The short answer is any time you have a confirmed unauthorized disclosure of protected health information (PHI). The…
Contents of an Assisted Living Market Analysis
Assisted living facilities are one of the fastest growing segments of the long-term care market in the U.S. An assisted living market analysis is just what you need to get…
Hospital Compliance Officer
This year has not resulted in a slow-down in the need for a competent hospital compliance officer. In fact, if anything, it has increased the need for such a person…
Medical Billing Revenue Cycle – 4 Key Takeaways
Authors have spilled a lot of digital “ink” lately describing the medical billing revenue cycle. We used to just say medical billing or hospital billing. Now we label it much…
What is Value-Based Care? 5 Observations in 5 Minutes!
Value-based care: a term we hear about a lot these days. There are also its synonyms, value-based reimbursement, and value-based payments. Although they are often used interchangeably, they really can…
Private Hospital Feasibility Study – 5 Observations in 5 Minutes
Undertaking a private hospital feasibility study can be a daunting task. Even a high-level checklist of issues to address can be several pages long. And the scope of a full…
Healthcare Compliance Program Policies and Procedures
Healthcare compliance program policies and procedures – that is the subject your boss has just asked you about. You realize while you have heard about this topic, you aren’t really…
Elements of a Financial Feasibility Analysis for Healthcare
In healthcare, a financial feasibility analysis, also known as a financial feasibility study, helps determine if a business idea is sustainable or even attainable and if you should choose one…
Value-Based Reimbursement in Healthcare – 2 minute introduction
Value-based reimbursement in healthcare, or VBR, is the movement of care from fee-for-service-based models to care with incentives based on quality. The traditional fee-for-service model has incentivized quantity. Value-based reimbursement…
Is Office 365 HIPAA Compliant?
Is Office 365 HIPAA compliant? A critical question, considering the worldwide usage of this program/application. “Office”, which is created by Microsoft, holds several tools for your business. These tools include…
Strategic Planning for Healthcare Facilities – 3 Minute Overview
Strategic planning for healthcare facilities is necessary for the overall well-being of the organization. (3 Minute Overview). The American College of Health Executives (ACHE) says two main types of strategic…
HIPAA Encryption – Required or Not?
Does HIPAA require encryption? Well … encryption is not yet required to be HIPAA-compliant, but it is recommended. You must ensure that your ePHI (electronic Protected Health Information) is protected…
How to Conduct a Healthcare Market Study – 5 Key Observations
If you’re wondering how to conduct a healthcare market study, read on to get some expert advice about the five key things you need to know. The healthcare industry is…
Independent Review Organization – Required by Your CIA
An Independent Review Organization (IRO) is an essential component of a Corporate Integrity Agreement executed with a healthcare organization. Every year, many healthcare organizations and providers enter into a Corporate…
HIPAA Security Standards – what are the 3 “big ones”?
HIPAA outlines the protection of protected health information (PHI). Part of HIPAA is the HIPAA Security Rule, or HIPAA Security Standards, which requires healthcare providers to protect electronic PHI (ePHI)….
A Feasibility Study Checklist for Your Hospital – what you need to know
A feasibility study checklist for your hospital, how do you create one? A feasibility study, or feasibility analysis, is a way to determine if a project plan could work for…
Medical Revenue Cycle in 9 Steps
The medical revenue cycle is the process of managing a patient’s account from the beginning, when they are pre-screened for financial coverage and their account is created, to the final…
Corporate Integrity Agreements in Healthcare Explained in 3 Minutes
Corporate integrity agreements in healthcare (CIA) serve as binding contracts between an organization and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The organization accepts all the terms and conditions that…
HIPAA Text Messaging – How Compliant is it?
Since so many people use text messaging, healthcare organizations may ask, “Is texting HIPAA compliant? And if so, how can I ensure I’m doing it right?” Although the government has…
Interim Compliance Officer in Healthcare
An interim (or full-time) compliance officer in a healthcare organization, is a person whose job is to prevent and manage compliance violations due to operations outside of internal and external…