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Medical Informatics is a story of phenomenal growth: Medical informatics is an area that is growing at a fervid pace. Its growth is not likely to get hindered or slow down in the near future, due to the surge in its use in the healthcare and IT industries. Medical Informatics is a relatively recent development in the field of healthcare. It is interwoven into the development and application of IT-based innovations in the healthcare industry. Medical informatics is often synonymously and loosely used with other related words such as clinical informatics, nursing informatics, healthcare informatics and so on. Its associations with related or similar disciplines notwithstanding, one can draw a fairly clear idea of medical informatics. It can be described as the application, adoption, design and development of IT into activities relating to the healthcare industry. What is the objective of medical informatics? Medical informatics seeks to enhance knowledge and innovate in the healthcare field by using IT and its applications. Towards this end, it uses and merges the principles, knowledge, data, application, and the tools needed for applying these in the process of decision-making. Who are involved in the use of medical informatics? Medical informatics is used by almost everyone in the healthcare industry. These include physicians, nurses, billers, coders, many others who provide healthcare, and medical librarians. In addition, there are specialists who are tasked purely with working with medical informatics, such as Data analysts Hospital record managers, and Programmers and analysts in the industry. The rise and rise of medical informatics The birth and growth of medical informatics has been tied to those of the IT industry, the Internet in particular. In a sense, they are twins, having started and grown in almost a conjoined fashion. Its early development started in the 1960s, very nearly contemporaneous with that of the Net. While the medium that brought

Medical Informatics : Medical informatics is an area that is growing at a fervid pace. Its growth is not likely to get hindered or slow down in the near future, due to the surge in its use in the healthcare and IT industries. Medical Informatics is a relatively recent development in the field of healthcare. It is interwoven into the development and application of IT-based innovations in the healthcare industry. Medical informatics is often synonymously and loosely used with other related words such as clinical informatics, nursing informatics, healthcare informatics and so on. Its associations with related or similar disciplines notwithstanding, one can draw a fairly clear idea of medical informatics. It can be described as the application, adoption, design and development of IT into activities relating to the healthcare industry. What is the objective of medical informatics? Medical informatics seeks to enhance knowledge and innovate in the healthcare field by using IT and its applications. Towards this end, it uses and merges the principles, knowledge, data, application, and the tools needed for applying these in the process of decision-making. Who are involved in the use of medical informatics? Medical informatics is used by almost everyone in the healthcare industry. These include physicians, nurses, billers, coders, many others who provide healthcare, and medical librarians. In addition, there are specialists who are tasked purely with working with medical informatics, such as Data analysts Hospital record managers, and Programmers and analysts in the industry. The rise and rise of medical informatics: The birth and growth of medical informatics has been tied to those of the IT industry, the Internet in particular. In a sense, they are twins, having started and grown in almost a conjoined fashion. Its early development started in the 1960s, very nearly contemporaneous with that of the Net. While the medium that brought it into existenc

The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 All clinical laboratory testing done on humans in the US, save those done for basic research and clinical trials, have to comply with the provisions of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, a set of federal amendments carried out in 1988 set out federal standards for carrying out clinical laboratory testing. A clinical laboratory is, according to the CLIA, a facility in which laboratory testing is done on samples procured from humans. This testing is done with the aim of obtaining information with the intention of evaluating health, using which clinicians diagnose, prevent, or treat disease. Having defined a clinical laboratory thus, the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments set out the regulatory guidelines on which clinical trials are to be administered. The fundamental aim of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments is to ensure accuracy, efficacy, safety, reliability and efficiency of clinical trials. The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments seek to do this by setting aside grades for a range of criteria that relate to these aspects of the clinical trial. These grades are given from a score of 1, meaning the lowest, to 3, the highest, to assess as many as seven criteria of a particular clinical trial. These seven criteria are: Knowledge Materials used in proficiency, quality control, and calibration of materials Features of operational steps Experience and training Troubleshooting of test system troubleshooting and maintenance of equipment Preparation of reagents and other materials Interpreting and judging the results of the tests Points to be borne in mind for enforcing provisions of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments Provisions set out in the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments are to be enforced through a set of parameters. These include: Procedure manual A basic part of the Clinical Lab

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: Discussions, presentation, and webinars regarding HIPAA regulations are usually addressed from the perspective of what the regulations entail, the necessity of compliance with the regulations, and the consequences of willful neglect or non-compliance. This presentation addresses HIPAA regulations from a different perspective - from a personal perspective - from the perspective of the person in charge of moving an organization or facility toward full compliance with HIPAA. The by-product of this presentation will be both an understanding of, and a detailed job description for, a position mandated in the regulations - the HIPAA Security/Privacy Officer. Why should you attend: The HIPAA regulations are numerous, complicated, often vague, and affect every person working in a healthcare facility. Compliance with HIPAA will require a unique individual to lead the charge - an individual whose education, background, experience, and demonstrated skill sets offer the opportunity for that person to succeed in achieving the goals of that position. This is a new position to most healthcare facilities. So understanding who this person should be, what is required of the person with this job title, and with whom this person will interface is vital to every healthcare organization with the goal of achieving full compliance with HIPAA. Areas Covered in the Session: Position goals Position requirements (education, experience, skill sets, etc.) Position responsibilities Stay abreast of regulations Initiate compliance with HIPAA (according to regulations) Ensure continuous progress toward full compliance Develop appropriate security/privacy policies & procedures Oversee and deliver appropriate training programs to all employees Track compliance with HIPAA regulations at the facility & individual levels Track access to PHI Investigate and resolve HIPAA violations Apply sanctions to HIPAA violators Manage any information security personnel Prepare a department

Food Safety and Security are two faces of the coin : Food safety and security are two different, but closely related concepts. Although part of the same aspect, they vary in their application and meaning. Both are equally important in ensuring that populations of the world get food that is sufficient and nutritious. Food safety and security are complete without each other. Food safety complements food security, and vice versa. Food safety : Food safety is essentially about the safety of the ingredients that go into food. If food is being sourced from a farm, the food makers have to ensure that the farm has ensured safety standards in producing this food. Food safety is concerned about the amount of chemicals and fertilizers used in production of food. It is also concerned with how much residual pesticide, which could cause harm to humans when the food that is grown using it, is left in the final product, and so on. Food safety is related to and is dependent on factors such as demographics, inputs that go into the cultivation and production of food, availability of water for production of safe food, the use of energy sources in the safe production of food, climate change, etc. Now, food security : Food security, on the other hand, is about more about the food supply chain. When food arrives from the producer to the consumer, it goes through a complex chain that can many times span entire continents. Food may also be sourced and consumed locally. In either case, there is a need to ensure that the points that food travels in and reaches are secure. Ensuring quality throughout : The aim of food security is to ensure that food which travels through many chains and stages should be clean at all these stages. This means that security has to be ensured from rodents and other forms of disturbances at the agricultural fields in which food is produced, then at the granaries in which it is stored, at the routes that it travels, then at the location at which food is pr

Overview: Final regulations for the new HIPAA Breach Notification Rule require much more than notifying individuals affected by a Breach of their Protected Health Information (PHI). Covered Entities and Business Associates first must follow and document a very specific process to determine if a Breach occurred. If no Breach occurred documentary proof must be kept for six years. If a Breach did occur timely notifications and other actions must be undertaken and documented. This webinar will explain: What Covered Entities and Business Associates must do to comply with the Breach Notification Rule What is and is not a Breach Three exceptions - when an acquisition, access, use, or disclosure of PHI not permitted by the Privacy Rule is not a Breach How to perform a Breach Risk Assessment to determine if you can demonstrate a a low probability that the PHI was compromised Who must be notified in case of a Breach When notifications must be provided What information must be contained in each notification Other requirements in case of a Breach Investigate Mitigate harm to affected individuals Protect against further Breaches Document everything Planning and preparation for the worst - public relations and mitigation strategies to limit damage to the organization's reputation and financial well-being Why should you attend: Breaches and incidents that might be Breaches happen all the time! More than 173,000 separate breaches of Protected Health Information (PHI) affecting less than 500 individuals were reported to the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) between September, 2009 and May 31, 2015 and in the same period HHS received approximately 1240 reports of PHI breaches that affected 500 or more individuals An acquisition, access, use, or disclosure of PHI not permitted by the Privacy Rule is presumed to be a Breach unless it falls within an exception or the Covered Entity or Business Associate can demonstrate a low probability that the PHI was compromi

Overview: The connection between the Body, its physiology and particularly biochemistry, have been linked to the mind with particular emphasis upon emotions and stress. This can be easily substantiated in common everyday situations. Anyone who has observed a facial red flush triggered by some sort of embarrassment can attest to the foregoing connection. The emotions and stress play a key role in many if not all diseases and disorders: due to the vastness of the subject, we will focus on the application of the mind/body connection(MBC) to skin. This serves as an introduction to the field of psych dermatology which, although still in its infancy in the USA, is expanding as evidence with regard to the psychological component related to the etiology of skin diseases continues to grow. Concurrently, the field of Alternative techniques IN mind/body treatments continue to grow in leaps and bounds providing effective methods for integration with conventional cosmetic and dermaceutical treatment. This provides a dual complimentary pathway both for prevention and treatment of any/most skin disorders. Expanding on this model, we have already shown how the mind influences the body as per the above example. This general proposition can be extended to include specific skin disorders such as acne rosacea psoriasis eczema and atopic dermatitis to name a few. We will concentrate on Acne for the sake of this discussion. First, focusing on the B component of the BMC model, the primary lesion associated with acne is the formation microcomodones, which are small enough to proceed undetected until larger comodones appear later in the cycle. The latter cycle is initiated by peroxidation of squalene and unsaturated fatty acids present in human sebum. This leads to the foregoing lesions and pro- inflammatory mediators such as cytokines and interleukins followed by an increase of p.acnes on the epithelial cell wall together with increased film formation of the p.acnes is the same area This

Overview: This webinar will focus on the major fraud and abuse laws, including the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the False Claims Act. In this webinar Mr. Wolfe will provide an overview of the health care regulatory issues related to implementing value-based physician compensation models. Why should you Attend: Given the substantial awards and settlements in recent Stark Law enforcement actions, Stark Law compliance has become more than just a compliance issue: it is an enterprise risk management issue. As medical groups, hospitals, and health systems transition to value-based physician compensation arrangements, they will need to make sure their arrangements continue to be compliant with the Stark Law. Areas Covered in the Session: Provide a general overview of the Stark Law, Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act. Explain the requirements for compliance with key regulatory exceptions and safe harbors. Compensation and valuation issues unique to the group practice model Discuss best practices when implementing value-based physician compensation models. Summarize the recent changes to the Stark Law for 2016. Who Will Benefit: In-House Counsel Health Care Compliance Officers Health Care Human Resources Health Care CFOs Health Care executives Speaker Profile Joseph Wolfe is an attorney with Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, P.C., the largest health care focused law firm in the country. Mr. Wolfe provides advice and counsel to some of the nation's largest health systems, hospitals and medical groups on a variety of health care issues. He regularly counsels clients on a national basis regarding compliance-focused physician compensation and alignment strategies. He is a frequent speaker on issues related to the physician self-referral statute (Stark Law), hospital-physician transactions, physician compensation governance and health care valuation issues. Before attending law school at the University of Wisconsin, he served as a combat engi

Overview: One of the major requirements of the health care organization to be HIPAA compliant is to develop and implement a set of HIPAA privacy and security policies and procedures. This can be a daunting task for those not knowing where to start and what a set of HIPAA privacy and security policies and procedures should look like. For the cost conscious health care organization, the HIPAA policies and procedures can have multiple uses: first, they can become a basis for training the health care organization workforce; second, they can be used as a basis for conducting a HIPAA self-assessment; and third, they can be used to demonstrate due diligence should there be a breach or an externalHIPAA compliance audit. In today's world it is not necessary that the health care organization spend significant funds to develop a set of HIPAA privacy and security policies and procedures from scratch. The health care organization can likely find templates on the internet that can be used as a starting point to customize HIPAA policies and procedures to be unique for the health care organization. The preparation of a well-documented set of HIPAA policies and procedures needs to be addressed through the development of Privacy and Security policies and procedures that address each of the requirements shown in the HIPAA regulations as amended by the HITECH law and the final Omnibus Regulations. The process of developing the HIPAA privacy and security policies and procedures also provides a reference for the health care organization how to consider the security addressable and required regulation requirements. Why should you attend: There are three situations where having a set of HIPAA policies and procedures are needed: First, the policies and procedures become a good reference to ensure that all areas are addressed for becoming HIPAA compliant. Second, the HIPAA regulations REQUIRE covered entities and business associates to have a set of policies and procedures directing

Overview: The primary goal of this session is to demonstrate why the health care organization needs to perform a risk assessment and how to perform the risk assessment. This includes a description of the types of breaches of protected health information that have already occurred and the reasons those breaches happened. The presentation then provides that reasons that a risk assessment is required in a health care organization and who needs to perform the assessment. There are a number of approaches available both for purchase on the web and performed by professionals on site. This discussion helps the participant determine which approach is best for their health care organization and what portions of the assessment are most important to the organization. The topic addresses the key components of a risk assessment and how to perform the risk assessment. This includes how to define the specific risks, how to know, how to assess the likelihood and impact of the risk and the final determination on the level of severity of the risk for the organization. Finally, the session explains how to interpret the results of the risk assessment, how to use the results of the risk assessment for preparing the health care organization's policies and procedures and how to conduct the HIPAA training for its staff. Why should you attend: In addition to the negative publicity and potential fines, a breach of a patient's health information often leads to litigation which is also time consuming and costly. The way to avoid these situations is to perform a Risk Assessment to understand where the health care organization is risk of an unauthorized breach and provide a basis for becoming HIPAA compliant. There are three reasons why a Risk Assessment is necessary: First, both the HIPAA Privacy and Security Regulations require a Risk Assessment for the organization to be HIPAA compliant Second, as a result of the Risk Assessment the organization knows where it needs to address its effo

Course "Texting and E-mail with Patients: Patient Requests and Complying with HIPAA " has been pre-approved by RAPS as eligible for up to 12 credits towards a participant's RAC recertification upon full completion. Overview: With the recent advances in portable technology, more and more organizations and their users are taking advantage of mobile devices to save time and get work done more efficiently. Texting, portable e-mail, and Apps are revolutionizing the ways health care providers interact with their patients and get their work done. But the use of these devices comes with hidden costs of compliance, especially if they lead to a reportable breach under HIPAA or state laws. HIPAA Privacy and Security Officers have been struggling to keep up with the use of the devices to protect patient privacy and avoid compliance issues. Even if these devices aren't in formal use in your organization, you need to act now to anticipate their use and make sure they are used properly. This session is designed to provide intensive, two-day training in HIPAA compliance as it relates to the use of mobile devices, including how to use them with Protected Health Information, the policies and procedures you need to have in place to use them securely, and how to manage issues of the "BYOD" phenomenon. The session provides the background and details for any manager of health information privacy and security to know what issues to look for with mobile devices, what needs to be done for HIPAA compliance, and what can happen when compliance is not adequate. Audits and enforcement will be explained, as well as privacy and security breaches and how to prevent them. Numerous references and sample documents will be provided. The session will be valuable for both newcomers to HIPAA compliance as well as seasoned veterans. HIPAA compliance will be explained and discussed in detail, from the basics through the latest changes and new technology issues, so that the attendee will have a coherent u

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

Overview: Many infectious diseases were historically confined to specific geographical regions. However, some now pose global threats due to ease of travel, globalization of trade and commerce and global warming. Government Agencies, non-Profit Organizations, Philanthropic groups and others are also funding vaccination programs for regions where infectious diseases are endemic and to deal with new outbreaks.. Such developments are stimulating research in and the development of improved vaccines, their manufacture and control. Supply Chain complexities and stability issues need to be addressed to cope with transport of vaccines to and their use in climatically hostile regions. Programs to address such challenges need to be implemented, being resourced by appropriately trained and qualified staff from a number of disciplines. Development programs for immuno oncology products also require staffing by similarly skilled professionals. Workers currently engaged in Discovery, Development and Manufacture of conventional medications , or those seeking career-change opportunities can develop an understanding of the concepts, constraints and opportunities associated with Vaccine products by attendance at the Webinar. Engineering professionals involved in facility construction, or repurposing can also benefit as can Regulatory Affairs Professionals or staff at medicines Evaluation Agencies. The subject matter is particularly suited to professionals who are expert in the various disciplines associated with conventional medications ("so-called "small molecules") who wish to expand and develop their skills by involvement in vaccine-related programs including immuno-oncology. Areas Covered in the Session: History of and development of vaccine concepts. undamentals of vaccination Vaccine Types Administration of Vaccines Future Concepts Immuno-Oncology Vaccine Manufacture Who Will Benefit: Regulatory Affair Managers Project Management Personnel QA Managers Scientists Technol

Overview: The presentation takes the participant through the steps needed to ensure a successful health care computer system implementation. Once presented the participant will see the logic of the tools and processes and be able to apply them to their system implementation. The tools and processes presented in this material have been developed by implementing health care systems for over 40 years and seeing what has worked and WHY it has worked. These tools and processes have been equally and successfully applied to the implementation of large, complex systems and smaller, simpler systems for large, multidepartment organizations and for small health care organizations. The process focuses on establishing the project's implementation expectations, identifying meaningful metrics for success, establishing project plans, assigning individual accountabilities and responsibilities, establishing and executing project tasks, monitoring project progress and validating project success. To establish viable project expectations, the presentation addresses the need for bringing all of the stakeholders (organization owners, providers and management, operations staff, IT staff and the vendor) into establishing common and realizable expectations. These are reviewed in context of the organization's current environment and its short and long term goals and are considered as a critical part of the implementation completion process. In the case of turning around an already troubled or failed system implementation, the process emphasizes the tasks of reassessing the project stakeholder expectations - why they decided the system would help the organization and what they expected to get from the system. Next the process shows the participant how to convert these expectations to realistic and measurable project success metrics. The process focuses on learning how to separate "so what" metrics from meaningful and measurable metrics. In addition, the process provides direction regardin

Overview: This webinar will explain the details of how to report and what to report on the OSHA Injury and Illness report. It will include an explanation of how to determine if an injury is work related, if an injury is new or ongoing, and what the differences are between first aid and medical treatment. A specific list of what constitutes injuries, illnesses and first aid treatment will be provided, along with practical examples of how to determine if an injury should be reported. In addition, examples of the forms used to report injuries, as well as annual summaries will be presented. Why should you attend: OSHA Injury and Illness Record keeping provides a window for regulators to see into your business to determine if the work environment is safe or if there are problems. Correct reporting of injury and illness data and a clear understanding of what to report and how to report it is a key necessity to avoid potential inspections and fines. Areas Covered in the Session: Injury and Illness reporting Determination of workplace relatedness Differences between first aid and medical treatment Determination of case as new or ongoing How to count total lost days Advantages that a company can provide to reduce risks of inspections and fines Who Will Benefit: Safety Personnel HR Personnel Managers Executives Speaker Profile Kenneth S. Weinberg is an independent consultant in environmental health and safety. Dr. Weinberg has consulted for several companies in the areas of OSHA Injury and Illness reporting, as well as auditing for OSHA inspections. He has worked as the Director of Safety at Mass. General Hospital in Boston for almost twelve years, and has written several books on the topics of health care safety, OSHA, and Indoor Air Quality. He has also written several articles for prominent national safety publications, and serves on the editorial advisory boards for safety publications. He Also has been Administrator of the Health Care Divisio0n of the American Socie

Healthcare fraud and abuse: Healthcare fraud and abuse are different but related kinds of malpractice. They affect everyone concerned: the patient, the healthcare unit, the healthcare sector, and eventually, the economy. Healthcare fraud and abuse are serious malpractices that can have very grave consequences for the patient, the hospital and the healthcare sector. They can also cost taxpayers heavy amounts of money. Healthcare fraud: There is some distinction between healthcare fraud and healthcare abuse. Healthcare fraud is said to happen, according to medicare.gov, when Medicare gets billed for a service or supply the end user never gets. These fraudulent claims result in loss of billions of dollars of revenue to Medicare each year. Healthcare fraud could be said to happen when: False statements are submitted knowingly or facts are misrepresented with the purpose of obtaining a federal health care payment for claims for which the person is not entitled A person knowingly solicits, pays, or/and accepts a payment with the intention of inducing or rewarding referrals for services or items that any of the federal healthcare programs reimburse Eligibility is falsified Prohibited referrals are made for select, designated health services Healthcare abuse: Although related, healthcare fraud and abuse are not totally similar to each other in spirit. A healthcare abuse can be when physicians do not comply with or bypass established good medical practices or administer treatments that are not necessary. This is less serious than fraud in terms of intent, but carries the same consequences: loss of billions of dollars to the exchequer and potential damage the patient's health and the physician's and/or healthcare provider's reputation. Some examples of healthcare abuse These are some of the examples of healthcare abuse: When services that are not medically warranted are performed and charged for When services and/or supplies are charged in excess of their actual value

Overview: With the recent advances in portable technology, more and more organizations and their users are taking advantage of mobile devices to save time and get work done more efficiently. Texting, portable e-mail, and Apps are revolutionizing the ways health care providers interact with their patients and get their work done. But the use of these devices comes with hidden costs of compliance, especially if they lead to a reportable breach under HIPAA or state laws. HIPAA Privacy and Security Officers have been struggling to keep up with the use of the devices to protect patient privacy and avoid compliance issues. Even if these devices aren't in formal use in your organization, you need to act now to anticipate their use and make sure they are used properly. This session is designed to provide intensive, two-day training in HIPAA compliance as it relates to the use of mobile devices, including how to use them with Protected Health Information, the policies and procedures you need to have in place to use them securely, and how to manage issues of the "BYOD" phenomenon. The session provides the background and details for any manager of health information privacy and security to know what issues to look for with mobile devices, what needs to be done for HIPAA compliance, and what can happen when compliance is not adequate. Audits and enforcement will be explained, as well as privacy and security breaches and how to prevent them. Numerous references and sample documents will be provided. The session will be valuable for both newcomers to HIPAA compliance as well as seasoned veterans. HIPAA compliance will be explained and discussed in detail, from the basics through the latest changes and new technology issues, so that the attendee will have a coherent understanding of not only the rules, but also how to think about compliance and make sound compliance decisions on a day-to-day basis in the context of mobile devices. Agenda Day One Day one sets the stage with an ov

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

Ensuring Patient Safety in Surgical Environments is Critical for Healthcare Providers A critical component of patient safety relates to surgical environments. Surgical theaters are prone to causing a high degree of harm. This can be from a number of sources. Patient safety in surgical environments can be from any microbe or fungus in any of the accessories used during surgery, such as ECG machine, the echo machine, or other related ones. A host of external factors can impinge upon patient safety in surgical environments Patient safety in surgical environments can also be compromised on account of the use of infected items such as swabs, sponges, knives, forceps, needles, catheters, tubes or any other such accessories or instruments. Patient safety in surgical environments can also get affected by the presence of microscopic allergens and molds in any bedding or clothing item. Even germs transmitted from the caregivers can be a source of lack of patient safety in surgical environments. Another major source where patient safety in surgical environments can suffer is when items are left behind in patients��� bodies by the surgeon. There have been innumerable cases of entire surgical items being left behind in the patient, even in the best hospitals, when surgery is performed by the best surgeons. Get a proper understanding of the underlying causes What do all these point to? These point to the fact that all the factors mentioned above are manmade and are preventable. So, understanding the root of the problem is the key to ensuring patient safety in surgical environments. East and west carry differences Any approach to a solution for ensuring patient safety in surgical environments has to start with the understanding that different healthcare and surgical environments exist in different parts of the world. A surgical environment in Germany for instance is vastly different from that in say, Ghana. So, an individualized approach is what is needed. It is to be note