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HIPAA Privacy Myths: HIPAA, the most comprehensive and as of now, the only truly Pan-American federal statute on health information, is unfortunately, still a target of misconceptions and myths. In particular, the Privacy Rule, which is the cornerstone of HIPAA's rule on confidentiality of patient information, offers room for many misconceptions. A few common HIPAA Privacy Myths: HIPAA Privacy Myths regarding communication between the patient and physician A common HIPAA Privacy Myth relates to the communication of mails between the patient and the physician. It is a common misconception that since the Privacy Rule is about ensuring the patient's privacy; it disallows email communication between the doctor and the patient. HIPAA Privacy Rule does allow this form of communication, so that the requisite safeguards are built into the communication aimed at ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of the mails. Transmission of the patient's protected health information Another of the common HIPAA Privacy Myths pertains to the transmission of patient information from one healthcare facility to another. Fact is, no permission is required for Covered Entities to disclose patient information from one clinic to another. The Covered Entity can also share Protected Health Information about the patient for legitimate purposes without the patient's consent or knowledge. Cumbersome and expensive HIPAA Privacy Rule regulations Many people tend to believe that the HIPAA Privacy Rule is a tangled web of regulations that are so complex and painstaking in terms of the administrative detail that implementation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule on a national scale is going to burn a hole in the national exchequer. This is completely untrue. On the contrary, over the years, implementation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule has been bringing down the administrative costs quite significantly, resulting in saving of a few billion dollars in the long run on administrative tasks like transactions

Health Insurance Market Reforms under Obamacare: The Patient Protection and Affordable Act (PPACA), or Obamacare, sets out a number of provisions for health insurance market reforms. Having been set in motion in March 2010; the PPACA sets out health insurance market reforms that are being implemented in stages from dates commencing generally from January 1, 2014. PPACA's health insurance market reforms are aimed at health insurance standards and group health plans. These reforms set out dates for the implementation of these reforms. They also prescribe penalties for noncompliance with these reforms. What kinds of market reforms are needed? The health insurance market reforms suggested by PPACA are almost singularly for group health plans. A group health plan is defined as one in which the employer makes a contribution into expenses accruing from the employee's health insurance plans. When an employer chooses to bring an employee's health plan under her coverage; the employer has to mandatorily comply with the provisions of the health insurance market reforms. Areas of the health insurance market reforms: These are the essential areas in which the health insurance market reforms are to be applied: Removal of lifetime and annual limits on essential health benefits: One of the primary provisions of the health insurance market reforms under PPACA is that it prohibits both lifetime and annual limits on essential health benefits, which were allowed some dollar limits prior to enactment of Obamacare. Preventive health services: An area of preventive health services that has undergone an amendment under the health insurance market reforms is that of no-cost sharing. Accordingly, employer plans are to offer preventive health services without requiring the employee to share the burden for this part of the plan. The three-month waiting period: The health insurance market reforms don't require a waiting period of over 90 days. A waiting period is the period that has

Incidental disclosures form the crux of HIPAA compliance and patient care. HIPAA has elaborate rules on how to maintain these and in what situations. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a landmark set of federal regulations, is aimed at protecting patient privacy regulations. Yet, it is understood that some information has to necessarily be shared. HIPAA compliance and patient care is centered on the inevitable disclosures that have to be made, or what are called incidental disclosures. Initially, there was some ambiguity about incidental disclosures, resulting in some kind of haziness about HIPAA compliance and patient care. With these cleared, much of HIPAA compliance and patient care hinges on this principle. Incidental disclosures determine patient care compliance with HIPAA Incidental disclosures are what are termed secondary use, i.e., it is the unavoidable or inevitable disclosure of Protected Health Information. It is understood that incidental disclosures, being a byproduct of the course or nature of the treatment; are inescapable, given the condition and situation of the patient. Guiding factors for HIPAA compliance with patient care The aim of HIPAA's Privacy Rule is to ensure that healthcare providers have to use professional judgment guided by ethical guidelines at the time of making incidental disclosures. The following bases were propounded for adherence with HIPAA compliance and patient care: Whenever there is an unavoidable breach in confidentiality, the breach should be proportionate to the potential benefit the patient's gets from care When a patient is not present in the healthcare setting or is incapacitated, information about the patient can be shared with the family, friends or whoever else is involved in the patient's care. This protocol need not be documented. In relation to the above, a requirement of HIPAA compliance for patient care is that when the patient has a condition that is not related to the present tr

Health Information Security Compliance: Health information security compliance requirements from HIPAA keep risk management at the core. These requirements also have other guidelines. Health information security compliance is a vital requirement for healthcare providers. Healthcare professionals have to ensure security and privacy of Protected Health Information (PHI) and Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI), which are part of Electronic Health Records (EHR). The guidelines, rules and requirements are mandated by HIPAA, which is in charge of ensuring that there is privacy and security of health information. Challenges associated with health information security compliance The very fact that a lot of health information is stored in electronic records makes health information security compliance all the more challenging. The way in which information flows between various players in the sector is also a factor: shared computers and information sharing with third party associates like laboratories and billers. If a healthcare organization is not compliant with health information security, it could be held indirectly responsible for issues arising out of these. HIPAA has regulations and guidelines on how providers can keep PHI and ePHI. It suggests and strongly recommends risk analysis as the basis for health information security compliance. These are set out in the Meaningful Use requirements. Some of risk analysis methods include or relate to the following: The provider's EHR software and hardware Assessment of whether the provider's practice protocols are adequate Risk assessment of the provider's physical setting and environment Risk assessment relating to staff education and training A thorough examination of EHR access controls Risk management relating to contracts with the provider's Business Associates The healthcare provider's practices in relation to patient relations and communications Physical measures for ensuring health information security c

Siemens Healthineers has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all fully diluted shares of US-based Corindus Vascular Robotics. The deal is valued at $4.28 per share in cash or $1.1bn in total. Corindus develops, produces and sells robotic systems for minimally invasive procedures, while Siemens' products use quality imaging before and during medical interventions to make minimally invasive treatment possible.

AvoColor is derived from the seed of the avocado and represents a disruptive innovation in "natural"food colors, as no other alternative shares its unique..

AvoColor is derived from the seed of the avocado and represents a disruptive innovation in "natural"food colors, as no other alternative shares its unique..

The Acute Kidney Injury Treatment market Report Provide the Analysis on Growth, Size, Shares and Demand For Forecasting year 2022-2028. This Report Provide Introduction, Overview, Regional Analysis, and in-depth industry analysis with Graphical Representation of Size, Share, and Trends

"Nucleic Acid Testing in Europe: Market Segment Forecasts and Supplier Shares"is designed to help current suppliers and potential market entrants identify and evaluate major business opportunities emerging in the molecular diagnostics market during the next five years.

"Microbiology Testing: Granular Analysis of the Global Market" This DataPack contains 800 tables from Venture Planning Group's new 7-country study, "Global Microbiology Testing Market: US, Europe, Japan," including supplier shares, and forecasts for over 100 tests.

Overview: Section 13411 of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, requires Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct periodic audits of providers and business associates to ensure their compliance with the HIPAA Security and Privacy Rule, and breach notification standards. To implement this mandate, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has conducted HIPAA/HITECH audit program with KPMG of 115 health care organizations to assess privacy and security compliance. This webinar will focus on the implementation and tracking of HIPAA audit best practices in a healthcare setup in order to prepare for the federal audit using published OCR audit protocols. Every audit begins with interviews, a questionnaire, and a thorough policy and procedures review. Presenter, with his decades of knowledge in the compliance, legal, auditing and security areas, will walk the attendees through the audit process, documentation requirements, and implementation specifications of the HIPAA privacy, security and breach rules. This presentation not only provides opportunity for the participants to prepare for the federal HIPAA audit but also to improve the security posture of their organizations by adopting to changing technology (mobile, social media, Health Information Exchange(HIE), cloud services, etc.) and threat landscape perspective as well. This presentation will uncover reasons why many health information breaches are occurring and help organizations better secure and comply with electronic protected health information by meeting the required and addressable HIPAA/HITECH security rules. The presenter will also share the best practices used for HIPAA security implementation and continuous risk assessment which is considered as "due diligence" by auditors for the HIPAA security compliance program. Areas Covered in the Session: Healthcare Technology Adoption/Trends Healthcare Regulatory (HIPAA/HITECH) and OCR/HHS Audit Overview Differences between

Social media and healthcare: The advent of the social media into the healthcare industry has thrown open a hitherto unknown dynamic. It presents the industry the kind of opportunities that were hard to come by till now. Yet, it is full of challenges. It is now an inescapable fact and a given: the onslaught of the social media into the healthcare industry cannot be reversed. The wave is too strong to resist. The explosion in the use of social media has impacted the healthcare industry on a scale that is unprecedented. The universal pervasiveness of the social media Social media and healthcare have become great buddies mainly because of the sheer power of reach of the social media. What started out essentially as services that shared photos and messages has turned out to be a giant opportunity for the healthcare industry. Today, it is something that no one in the healthcare industry -or those outside it, such as the lay young population that seeks medical information - is insulated from. Now, not only patients, but also physicians and everyone of any significance in the healthcare industry use the social media to disseminate information. Social media and healthcare have become strongly paired also because they help in keeping the patient in close contact with the healthcare provider. It is no surprise that the social media have broken the barriers of age and geography in reaching out to the highest and widest range of users. Some trends about social media and healthcare: It is estimated that a fifth of the entire American population exchanged medical information over the social media in 2010 About three-fourths of all patients use the social media for some information before reaching a healthcare provider At least a thousand top US hospitals use social media for communicating with patients and providers Globally, up to half a billion people could be linking social media and healthcare by using the former Now, the challenges: Despite social media in t

Overview: This webinar provides an overview of the MACRA legislation and developing regulations and guidelines. We'll help you understand how medical practices will be paid in the future for services to Medicare patients. You'll be asked to choose between two paths. If you choose to participate with other providers in an Advanced Payment Model, the larger organization will be paid for services provided and determine how to share those payments as well as any cost savings among the participants. If you choose the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), your payment rate will vary based on how you perform on a variety of Medicare Quality Programs - PQRS, VBM, Meaningful Use and a 4th new component focused on Quality Improvement. You'll want to know as much as possible about the pros and cons of each option and how to make the right choice for your practice. Why should you Attend: Under the MACRA legislation, your providers will need to choose between participating in an Advanced Payment Model (APM) or participating in the new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. Making the wrong choice can result in significant reductions in your future Medicare payments. You'll want to understand the options and have a plan in place by January 1, 2017 - that's only 6 months away. Areas Covered in the Session: Learn the requirements of the new MACRA legislation and how it will impact your Medicare payments in 2019 and beyond Find out what you need to be doing now to ensure you don't lose Medicare revenue in future years Understand the options - APM vs MIPS - and how your Medicare payments can increase or decrease under each model Identify what aspects of the new payment methodology are written into the legislation, what has been released through proposed regulations and when final rules are expected. Who Will Benefit: Practice Administrators, CEOs, COOs Physicians and all providers who bill to Medicare Quality Officers Nurse leaders Finance Directors Speaker Pro

What is HIPAA ? Compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a core requirement of the stakeholders involved in health information. HIPAA has prescribed standards with which to protect critical data relating to patients. Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are important documents that contain sensitive patient data, and are thus considered Protected Health Information (PHI). Since this data is accessible to a number of players involved in the field of healthcare; it extremely important to set regulatory guidelines aimed at ensuring that patient information remains protected. HIPAA compliance is essentially about staying in compliance with these guidelines. Measures needed to show compliance with HIPAA HIPAA requires a healthcare organization dealing with PHI to implement all of the following measures and comply with them: Physical measures Network measures, and Process security measures The role of HIPAA Privacy Rule and HIPAA Security Rule HIPAA has set out two important rules that pertain to compliance. These are the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPAA Security Rule. While the Privacy Rule relates to how the medical information of a patient is saved, accessed and shared; the Security Rule is about how to implement national security safeguards for protecting electronic PHI, or ePHI. Who all need to be HIPAA compliant? Since the aim of HIPAA compliance is to ensure complete safety of patient data, it has requirements for every stakeholder in the EHR process. These stakeholders comprise: Covered Entities (CE): Anyone involved in the treatment, payment and operations in healthcare Business Associates (BA): Any person who has access to patient information and is involved in supporting treatment, payment or operations. These include third-party administrators and private sector vendors Those with whom BA's work, or those that are called subcontractors Hosting providers. These typically include healthcare software pro

A Hospital Incident Command System is a wonderfully effective system for handing disasters and emergency situations: A Hospital Incident Command System is an absolute must for hospitals when they have to carry out unforeseen emergencies. Having a process-oriented Hospital Incident Command System is an effective tool for dealing with situations and saving lives. A Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) is a standardized process that helps hospitals deal with emergencies, natural or manmade. HICS is common across hospitals in the US and have common terminology and organizational structure. It is a single system that all hospitals have to use. Since emergencies can happen at any time and can be of any gravity; it is imperative for physicians to have a command of how to deal with emergencies by understanding the Hospital Incident Command System and its role in disaster situations. HICS goes beyond patient care. Physicians and other staff need to both have access to disaster-specific and related information to the Hospital Incident Command System, as well as know how to handle it, in order to bring about an effective response and augment an existing one. Advantage of having a Hospital Incident Command System The biggest advantage of having a Hospital Incident Command System is that its practices and processes are similar to those used by external agencies in times of emergency. This makes sharing incident command systems that much more effective and easier to coordinate, and facilitates information flow. Features of a Hospital Incident Command System A Hospital Incident Command System provides a flexible reporting structure with defined roles and responsibilities It sets up and facilitates communication flow and documentation protocol It provides the hospital operations a concrete strategic direction-oriented support by leveraging and optimizing additional resources such as staff and equipment, so that these are used where they are needed the most. A Hospital Incident

Back issue is a standout amongst the most widely recognized motivations to see a specialist. According to a review, around 80% of individuals experience back torment amid their lifetime. Despite the fact that for the lion's share of these individuals the torment will die down actually without the requirement for surgery, while the staying still require appropriate care and drug or spine surgery to dispose of their back issues.

Tell your story, learn about others' stories, and get advice from experts on health issues. Share What I Know is a revolutionary new health and wellness website. Most women get advice on health issues from friends at a coffee shop. ShareWIK.com strives to expand this idea and provide the world with others' inspiring and educational stories, while at the same time promoting a thorough understanding of health issues helped by the wisdom of our experts.

Sharing of behavioral health patient data has been a conflicting issue since the healthcare technology reforms started in the country. Under these reforms

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What is Depression? Every individual experiences feelings of worthlessness, sadness, and negativity. It is when these feelings spiral out of control and consume the individual to an extent that his/her normal life is disrupted, that depression arises. Depression is a serious medical condition and can significantly weaken the individual both physically and mentally. What are the causes and risk factors of depression? In medical terms, depression is due to a decreased amount of certain chemicals in the brain. Depression has a genetic basis, i.e. depression may run in family. It can also be triggered by an event such as the loss of a loved one, losing a job, etc. There are some hormonal problems like decreased thyroid levels that can also lead to depression. Depression can also follow after the diagnosis of a serious illness and leads to impaired treatment of the disease. It is accompanied by the feeling of not getting well and hence ignoring the medication and the other activities that have been advised by the doctor. Risk factors Traumatic past, abuse, neglect Loss of a loved one Serious medical conditions like Parkinson's disease, etc. Also Read: How to Prevent Depression in Elderly What are the symptoms of depression? Persisting feeling of sadness, anxiety Low self-esteem Feeling worthless Pessimistic mindset Decreased appetite Difficulty in sleeping Oversleeping Inability to concentrate Talking, walking slowly Constantly feeling tired Loss of interest in activities that were previously enjoyable Decreased sexual desire Weight loss Headache Abdominal cramps Having ideas about death, contemplating suicide What are the investigations for depression? As such there are no investigations for depression. If the symptoms listed above continue for more than two weeks, the person is diagnosed with depression. Investigations advised by the doctor can be - Thyroid function tests Cortisol levels in the blood What is the treatment of depression? The treatment is both