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Issue 12, December 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• OCR HIPAA audits to cover most of 2012: What to expect and how to prepare

  Strategies for Health Care Compliance has obtained a copy of the $9.2 million contract with KPMG...

• Six best practices to survive increased enforcement

  Before HITECH, covered entities (CE) could pretty much say the government was all bark and no bite...

• Learn why the discharge summary is worth the wait

  Coding without a complete medical record could put your facility at risk during a RAC audit...

• HIPAA Q&A: HIPAA updates and violations

  Test staff members' knowledge of HIPAA with these questions from readers.

Issue 11, November 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Trials ahead in maintaining the 'chain of trust'

  The security of PHI is no longer the exclusive domain of covered entities (CE).

• The ABCs of policies and procedures

  Undocumented policies and procedures are among the top five stumbling blocks to HIPAA compliance...

• Review these must-have HIPAA policies and procedures

  HIPAA policies and procedures vary from one healthcare organization to another, but the following...

• Billing tips for research-related injuries

  Clinical research can be a tricky area when it comes to billing, but even more so when a research...

• Know how to identify, understand RAC compliance risks

  It shouldn't come as a surprise that RACs use the Common Working File (CWF) to ensure that...

• What color is your PEPPER?

  The Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER), distributed either...

Issue 10, October 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Get ready for research compliance changes

  Compliance officers take note: Big changes may be on the way in human subjects research compliance...

• Be proactive to stop whistleblower actions against your organization; vet potential candidates

  Let's face it. The government has given your employees a pretty big incentive to blow the whistle...

• Supreme Court rules in favor of pharma in privacy case

  Compliance officers didn't get a boost from the Supreme Court after all. The nation's highest court...

• HIPAA audits can affect business associates, too

  Business associates (BA) may not be the target of upcoming HIPAA compliance audits, but failure to...

• Mobile devices pose major security risk

  Mobile devices, from tablets to smartphones, are nearly as common as stethoscopes in healthcare...

• OCR discusses preliminary plans with HITECH audits

  The time for healthcare organizations to undertake a review of their operations is now-the Office...

Issue 9, September 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Confession is good for your soul and your facility's finances

  Let's face it. It's not human nature to rush to confess our sins. But when it comes to compliance...

• EHR aids recovery after tornado destroys hospital

  Just three weeks before a devastating tornado roared through Joplin, MO, St. John's Regional...

• Some surprises in HITECH's notice of proposed rulemaking

  The long-awaited notice of proposed ­rulemaking (NPRM) required by HITECH for accounting of...

• Address privacy and security risks with social media

  Social networking and its related communication vehicles pose significant privacy and security...

• Patient authorizations, leaving voice mail messages, and patients who e-mail PHI

  You've got questions about HIPAA privacy and security compliance. We've got answers.

Issue 8, August 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Proposed rule means new hoops to jump through for organizations

  Patients will have new rights when it comes to ­finding out who has accessed their health...

• Focus in on often-overlooked social media risks

  When people think about social media, they typically conjure up images of Facebook, Twitter, and...

• The top five gaps in HIPAA compliance

  When Raj Chaudhary, MS, PE, CGEIT, goes into hospitals, there are five HIPAA privacy and security...

• Government turns up the heat on protection of ePHI

  If patients had concerns about the ability of healthcare organizations to protect their ePHI, two...

• Patient authorizations, voice mail messages, and patients who e-mail PHI

  Q After meeting with physicians to review lab ­reports, patients often request a copy of...

Issue 7, July 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Professional use of social media

  A new study by the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) in Minneapolis shows that many...

• RACs raking in the dollars from overpayments

  CMS recently reported in its FFS Newsletter that it ­collected $162 million in overpayments...

• Find out where you stand with a RAC risk assessment tool

  To take a proactive approach to the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) process, you will need to...

• The feds are coming

  OCR shook things up in February when it issued big-ticket penalties for HIPAA Privacy and Security...

• Use this checklist to ensure compliance

  "There is no such thing as a 100% secure environment. No one can deliver that. What we can try...

• Notice of Privacy Practices, HIPAA authorization requirements, and inappropriate access

  Q We were very familiar with Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) requirements before the enactment...

Issue 6, June 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• OCR HIPAA/HITECH audits are in your future

  Preparing for audits can be a tool for assessing an organization's compliance with the Privacy and...

• What HITECH did to HIPAA: The changing regulatory landscape of privacy, security, and enforcement

  Some of them have been finalized, while others have not yet been released even as proposals. This...

• Pay attention to privacy and security to avoid big problems

  Early on, OCR had a backlog of complaints and few resources to follow up on them. But more...

• Past research violations may haunt the present day

  A 1946 research study that involved deception and abuse recently came to light, and it could have...

• Take plastic? Know this security standard

  Healthcare privacy and security teams are watching closely for new rules and regulations that will...

• Chart RAC activity to watch-and share-trends

  When Nancy Herr, RN, BSN, CCM, manager of utilization review at Liberty (MO) Hospital, started...

Issue 5, May 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Is your organization at risk for a privacy breach?

  Now that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is posting the names of organizations with breaches of...

• As patients get more savvy, address privacy concerns

  Here's one trend industry observers say healthcare organizations can expect to see now and in the...

• A new role in risk management for compliance officers

  Are you working closely with your organization's risk manager? If not, it may be time to start.

• Spread the word about physician legibility

  Legible. Complete. Dated, timed, signed, and authenticated. That's what Section 482.24 of the...

• Dealing with RACs: How hospitals managed in 2010

  In 2010, HCPro's Revenue Cycle Institute conducted its second annual in-depth study on RAC...

Issue 4, April 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Compliance risks greater than ever: Is your organization ready for the new challenges?

  If your compliance program is lacking, now is the time to make changes.

• Laboratories may be given a pass on problematic signature requirement

  Laboratory industry advocates in February were able to gain Congressional support to have a new CMS...

• Industry leaders discuss healthcare privacy, security trends that deserve your attention

  A group of prognosticators asked to predict what lies ahead in 2011 says the healthcare industry...

• HITECH promises, but does it deliver?

  With newfound authority, some state attorneys general (AG) are beginning to take aim at covered...

Issue 3, March 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Head off malpractice lawsuits by disclosing breast density

  Looking to head off potential malpractice lawsuits in one of your organization’s...

• Compliance officers may get a boost from the Supreme Court regarding pharma sales rep pitches

  A compliance officer’s job may get a little bit easier if the Supreme Court allows states to...

• Will HIPAA violations prompt more civil litigation?

  To date, it remains the largest HIPAA breach reported to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and its...

• Your training checkup to ensure HIPAA compliance

  Lack of trained staff is a major cause of data breaches, according to healthcare organizations.

• Red Flags Rule reprieve; or is it?

  Many physicians and physician practices have gotten a break from the Red Flags Rule—the law...

Issue 2, February 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New study: Healthcare has long way to go to protect patient privacy

  “Patient revenue trumps privacy and risk management,” according to the sponsor of a...

• Don’t let compliance go out with the trash

  Do you know where your laboratory waste is going? If you’re not keeping tabs on it, you...

• Know which coding issues to include in your facility’s 2011 audit plan

  With an ever-growing list of Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC)–targeted MS-DRGs and a host of...

Issue 1, January 1, 2011 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Prepare to respond to breaches of privacy

  While your healthcare organization awaits a breach notification final rule from HHS, there are...

• Step by step: What to do when you receive a RAC denial

  You receive a RAC demand letter for repayment. But wait a minute before you pay up—you might...

• Strategies for performing staff evaluations

  With the end of the year approaching, you, along with many of your HIM director and manager...

• Strategies for Health Care Compliance 2010 index

  Strategies for Health Care Compliance 2010 index