Tag: risk
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Don’t Forget Your Risk Assessments!
Many medical practices are planning their Security Risk Assessments for the new year. Whether to better qualify for the 2019 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) or to fulfill obligations to comply with the HIPAA Security Rule, a strong strategy now will reap benefits later. It’s a good time to remember what is required when conducting…
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Think Your Practice Management Software Makes You HIPAA Compliant?
Complying with HIPAA security standards is a complex matter that demands a comprehensive solution. As a busy healthcare provider, it’s easy and convenient to trust that your practice management software satisfies the necessary HIPAA requirements to keep your electronic medical records safe. But the truth is, in most cases, it doesn’t. A False Sense of…
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Do You Know How to Easily Avoid a HIPAA Penalty?
If you have any questions, call PCIHIPAA at (800) 588-0254. Let them know you are a member of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama.
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HIPAA Illiteracy Is Considered Willful Neglect
KNOWING YOUR OFFICE’S VULNERABILITIES IS NOT ENOUGH Unsure of your practice’s vulnerabilities? Judge Rules in Favor of OCR and Requires $4.3 Million in Penalties for HIPAA Violations OCR’s investigation found that MD Anderson had written encryption policies and risk analyses had found that the lack of device-level encryption posed a high…
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Liquid Gold or Reimbursement Trap? Payor Reimbursement Policies for Urine Drug Testing
Last summer, we wrote about physician roles and responsibilities to implement best practices in pain management programs and other treatments involving the prescription of opioids.1 Here we discuss issues related to getting paid to implement one of these best practices — appropriate urine drug testing. The urine drug testing field has been described as a…
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Breach Notification…Who, How, When?
February is typically a very busy month for health care compliance professionals because the majority of breaches are required to be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within the first 60 days of the calendar year following the breach. However, the type of breach determines the applicable deadline so it is…
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A HIPAA Contingency Plan: Yes, It’s Boring. Yes, You Must Do It.
When was the last time you reviewed your entity’s Contingency Plan? If it has been awhile, or never, you need to get to work. In light of recent natural disasters and ransomware attacks, the necessity of thorough and documented contingency planning, to include backup and disaster recovery, has become a focus for health care entities.…
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Is Your HIPAA Contingency Plan Adequate?
Your response to this question may include one of the following answers: What in the world is a Contingency Plan? I think we did that, but I’m not sure where it is. I know we did one a while back, but we haven’t looked at it in a while. If any of these responses sound…
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Report: Deaths from Cancer Higher in Rural America
Despite decreases in cancer death rates nationwide, a new report shows slower reduction in cancer death rates in rural America (a decrease of 1.0 percent per year) compared with urban America (a decrease of 1.6 percent per year), according to data released today in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report is part of a series of…
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A Risk Analysis Is Your Entity’s Annual HIPAA Checkup
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires all covered entities to conduct an accurate and thorough assessment of potential risks and vulnerabilities to the confidentiality, availability and integrity of electronic protected health information (ePHI). This process must be documented as a Risk Analysis. Covered entities must develop a Risk Analysis at their inception…