In this Article … What is the OIG Exclusion list? Who is on the OIG Exclusion list? What does it mean if an employee is on the OIG Exclusion List?…
What Methods are Acceptable for Destruction of PHI?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets strict standards for the destruction of protected health information (PHI). PHI is any patient health information that can be used to…
Assisted living occupancy is up – time to jump in?
Assisted living occupancy is beginning to see a rebound in rates for 2022, after experiencing declines in 2020 and 2021. As of the second quarter of 2022, senior living occupancy…
Understanding the Penalties for HIPAA Non-Compliance
HIPAA violation penalties can be severe, and both healthcare providers and business associates need to be aware of the risks that come with violating HIPAA Rules. This article provides the…
Critical Access Hospital Compliance Plan
Is there anything particularly special about a Critical Access Hospital Compliance Plan? Not really; the same Office of Inspector General Guidance for Hospital Compliance Plans applies to critical access hospitals…
Hospital Compliance Program – Board Concerns
Hospitals commonly have a Hospital Compliance Program. Members of the Board of Directors read about problems or actual misconduct at other institutions. They want to know what the CEO is…
Hospital Market Analysis – 4 Areas of Focus
Your hospital is considering adding one or even several new business lines. You have been assigned the responsibility to analyze the market for these new business lines. You realize you…
What is a Corporate Integrity Agreement?
It seems these days the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department is always busy with settlements or enforcements with healthcare providers. When the…
HIPAA Privacy Rules – Scope and Protection
In 2023 we will observe the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the HIPAA Privacy Rules. The HIPAA Privacy Rule, just like the HIPAA Security Rule, and the Breach Notification Rule,…
Risk Assessment for a Breach of PHI
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 into…
The Hospital Compliance Officer: what you need to know
This year has not resulted in a slowdown in the need for a competent Hospital Compliance Officer. In fact, if anything, it has increased the demand 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? (a Comprehensive Guide)
Is Office 365 HIPAA compliant? This is a crucial question given the widespread usage of this suite of applications. Created by Microsoft, Office 365 encompasses various tools crucial to the…
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…