With the relatively slow roll-out of regulations and enforcement, HIPAA audits always seemed as if they were something to be concerned with in the future, but not necessarily in the…
Even Hospital Billing Done Correctly can have Claims Denied by a RAC
Convinced that your hospital billing department is doing its job well, and yet your claims get denied by a RAC? You’re not alone. Did you know that in one study…
The Meaningful Use Audit – Coming to a location near you soon!
With both Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) ready to step up the policing of the HITECH Act’s EHR incentive payments, it looks…
Trends in Senior Living
This month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics released a study entitled Residents Living in Residential Care Facilities: United States 2010. This study, which…
HIPAA Breach of PHI: Repairs are Costly, but Avoidance can be Simple!
The HIPPA Privacy Rule addresses Protected Health Information (PHI), and the HIPAA Security Rule directly address Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). In both cases, a HIPAA breach can be a…
HIPAA Compliant Email: some proactive strategies
Part two of a two-part series on HIPAA Compliant Email In Part I of this post, we reviewed some of the statements that the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), the…
HIPAA and Email: there are rules
Part one of a two-part series on HIPAA and email. Email has been widely used by both businesses and the general public for much of the last thirty years, and…
§170.302.i … and how EHR vendors can help improve patient follow-up
The HITECH Act has brought a huge rush of EHR vendors into the market. And separating the good from the bad is ultimately found in the details where there’s an…
HIPAA and HIPAA Risk Assessment
Focused highlights about the requirements of HIPAA, HIPAA risk assessments, business associate agreements, and the security rule for meaningful use/EHR attestation. Back to Video Library Got Questions? Please complete…
Medical Record Documentation … will your’s survive a RAC audit?
Does your medical record documentation support the codes you’re using? And why should you care? Well, one reason is because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has just announced…
Focus on Skilled Nursing and the 2012 OIG Work Plan
On October 5, 2011, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published it’s long anticipated (drum roll please) … OIG 2012 Work Plan. For those of you who are not…
Skilled Nursing Facility Financing … are you ready?
Skilled nursing facility financing can be an intimidating process. With some of the information presented in this post, it can be less so. In part one of my long-term care…
Assisted Living Facility Financing … getting started
Over the years there have been many individuals who have approached us wishing to explore opportunities to enter into the assisted living market, or existing providers who are studying local markets and…
OIG Work Plan Update – “What’s new for 2012?”
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released its 2012 Work Plan the other day, as they do every year at about this time. This is the annual publication that…
A Business Associate HIPAA Risk Assessment … “Why is it necessary?”
Organizations that were once “just” business associates of Covered Entities are realizing that they’re subject to HIPAA regulations to the same extent as the Covered Entities they contract with. And…
The Healthcare ACO … “What it is and why I should care”
The Accountable Care Organization, or “ACO”, is among healthcare’s latest trends. And what about the “Medical Home“? Is that the same as an ACO, or different? Some organizations, after their…
The Home Healthcare Industry has Many Changes & Challenges Ahead
No doubt about it: The home healthcare industry is booming right along with the baby boomers. The economic downturn, healthcare reform legislation, the changing preferences of seniors in America (or…
HIPAA Security Risk Assessment and Meaningful Use
There’s lots to do and keep track of when your medical practice is preparing for Meaningful Use Attestation. With that in mind, one of the Meaningful Use Criteria that I…
Business Associate Agreements – HIPAA and HITECH
Since 2003 HIPAA regulations have required that Business Associate Agreements be in place. However, some of the most far-reaching provisions of the HITECH Act of 2009 have to do with…
HIPAA Violation – Your Risk of Being Audited Just Went Up
Up to now, the many healthcare organizations that are Covered Entities under HIPAA law did not have to worry too much about outside scrutiny of their compliance activities. Most entities…