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Practical steps to compliance with HIPAA Computer Policy: That the HIPAA has a clear and stringent policy on computers is absolutely understandable, because computers constitute the very soul of HIPAA. Ensuring security of patient data is one of the core causes for which HIPAA was enacted; so, it is only natural that Computer Policy should be at the center of HIPAA compliance. A HIPAA Computer Policy rule came into effect in 2005. The nub of this enactment is to ensure that there are technical, physical and administrative security procedures that must be adhered with. These are meant for Covered Entities to ensure that the data they have of patients, namely electronic Protected Health Information (PHI) is safe and secure. Understand the reason for HIPAA Computer Policy Any implementation has to start with an understanding of the rationale for the action, right? The same goes for something as important and big as implementation of HIPAA compliance into systems. HIPAA Computer Policy is in place for a specific and critical reason ���protection of patient data, loss of which can lead to hefty penalties that can affect the business very adversely. So, installing the necessary protections is the first step to protecting vital data and with it, one's own business or practice, as well. Implement a sound access policy A strong access policy is at the heart of HIPAA Computer Policy. It is in the computer systems that all the data relating to the patient are stored. So, making sure who in the organization has access to these and how and when, is very important. Not only should access be restricted to only designated and permitted personnel in the organization; there should be a system by which tracking of access is easily determined. This is to find out who accessed which record, when, what action followed, what happened as a result of this access, and so on. Keep a record of all system components This is another step to ensuring compliance with HIPAA Computer Po

Quality Management in Healthcare: Quality management in healthcare is a critical requirement for healthcare organizations. Making quality management patient-centric comes first. Adapting and implementing standards and tools is the next step towards this. Quality management in healthcare is of critical importance to the healthcare industry and the patient. Everyone in the loop -from physicians to practitioners to support staff -needs to be aware of the importance of quality management in healthcare. The most basic purpose of imparting high quality management in healthcare is to make sure that the patient is well taken care of. For this to happen, the healthcare setting has to implement systems and processes. Quality management centers on process management. If organizations have to ensure that meaningful quality management in healthcare is being implemented; they have to adhere to processes. Adapting standards and instilling processes into the healthcare system is how healthcare providers can assure quality in healthcare. Patient is at the center of quality management in healthcare Obviously, the first step in the direction of implementing quality management in healthcare is to make the healthcare setting's care and processes patient-oriented and patient-centric. Quality management in healthcare begins with the patient and should be fully tuned to her needs. As patients' requirements and expectations vary over time; quality management has to keep upgrading itself to keep up with the changing needs and demands. In line with this, the following means can go a long way in ensuring quality management in healthcare: The healthcare setting has to identify goals for ensuring quality management in healthcare. Each department has to be given measurable goals to reach. Implementing quality standards goes a long way in ensuring that quality management in healthcare is imparted in the organization. Six Sigma, ISO 9001 and ANOVA are some of the popular standards a

Quality Management in Healthcare: Quality management in healthcare is a critical requirement for healthcare organizations. Making quality management patient-centric comes first. Adapting and implementing standards and tools is the next step towards this. Quality management in healthcare is of critical importance to the healthcare industry and the patient. Everyone in the loop -from physicians to practitioners to support staff -needs to be aware of the importance of quality management in healthcare. The most basic purpose of imparting high quality management in healthcare is to make sure that the patient is well taken care of. For this to happen, the healthcare setting has to implement systems and processes. Quality management centers on process management. If organizations have to ensure that meaningful quality management in healthcare is being implemented; they have to adhere to processes. Adapting standards and instilling processes into the healthcare system is how healthcare providers can assure quality in healthcare. Patient is at the center of quality management in healthcare Obviously, the first step in the direction of implementing quality management in healthcare is to make the healthcare setting's care and processes patient-oriented and patient-centric. Quality management in healthcare begins with the patient and should be fully tuned to her needs. As patients' requirements and expectations vary over time; quality management has to keep upgrading itself to keep up with the changing needs and demands. In line with this, the following means can go a long way in ensuring quality management in healthcare: The healthcare setting has to identify goals for ensuring quality management in healthcare. Each department has to be given measurable goals to reach. Implementing quality standards goes a long way in ensuring that quality management in healthcare is imparted in the organization. Six Sigma, ISO 9001 and ANOVA are some of the popular standards a

Course "Key Factors to Write an Effective Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and Work Instructions (WIs)" has been pre-approved by RAPS as eligible for up to 12 credits towards a participant's RAC recertification upon full completion. Overview: Writing SOPs or procedural documents can be challenging at times. However, writing SOPs is overall a straightforward process. However, enforcing what you already created and implemented in the pipeline is another story. The term SOP is very obvious. We have seen "clearly written description of how specific tasks are to be done." Another satisfactory definition would be "detailed written instructions that achieve the uniformity of the performance of a specific function." Is the firm doing what the regulations specify? Is the firm doing what their procedures specify? If you are medical device or a pharmaceutical manufacturer, these definitions come as no surprise because when it comes to FDA regulations and guidance documents "establish" means to define, to document (in writing or electronically) and to implement. The goal and emphasis with FDA is simple. Proof of "Establish" is the foundation. Is the firm doing what the regulations specify? Is the firm doing what their procedures specify? Are the procedures being followed and enforced by company personnel? SOPs are needed in regulated industries to give step-by-step instructions for performing a particular job or task. This session will provide a step-by-step overview and a snapshot of the procedure description, the process and format. The subject matter of a SOP may range from how to operate a piece of machinery to how to log into a particular software program. SOPs ensure consistency and reliability because they require training of all affected parties. This session will address recent enforcement actions for SOP related violations but no surprise. Most of our enforcement actions are documentation related, i.e., SOP or other procedural documents. We will review examples from

Discover the comprehensive step-by-step guide to successfully navigate the medical insurance credentialing process. From initial application to panel acceptance, learn how to streamline your journey.

Clinical Risk Management Lies at the Heart of Patient Safety : Clinical Risk Management is the process of identifying and mitigating risks in a healthcare setting. Risks are inherent in a clinical or healthcare practice, as they are in any other activity. But the field of healthcare has to be doubly wary of risk management because an adverse risk can cause irreparable loss if it leads to an event such as death. To a healthcare organization or practice, a bad event can harm the name beyond repair. How is risk identified? The first step to implementing a Clinical Risk Management is identifying the risks in the practice. This can be done in a number of ways: Why do healthcare providers need to implement a Clinical Risk Management strategy? Healthcare providers need to put in place a very sound Clinical Risk Management strategy for a number of reasons: Steps to putting a good Clinical Risk Management program in place A healthcare organization can put an effective Clinical Risk Management in place through a four-step process: Click Here for More Information: http://bit.ly/1OcHFXm

HIPAA Enforcement trends : Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a legislation of the American Congress. HIPAA enforcement consists of taking steps to confirm that rules set out in HIPAA are being complied with by the requisite entities. Primarily passed with the intention of ensuring that employees do not lose their health insurance benefits when they change or leave their current jobs; this 1996 law also has the protection and security of Protected Health Information (PHI) as one of its chief aims. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which enforces actions relating to HIPAA, imposes harsh penalties on healthcare organizations and Business Associates and Covered Entities that are proven to be in noncompliance of HIPAA requirements. What are HIPAA enforcement actions? The actions that the OCR takes to ensure implementation of HIPAA provisions constitute the essence of HIPAA enforcement actions. There are a good number of areas which the OCR can cite as constituting cases of HIPAA violations or noncompliance. A look at recent HIPAA enforcement actions point to a trend. These trends serve as an indicator of what to expect from HIPAA enforcement actions, which will help entities get some idea of what they should implement and what they should not and thus prevent being cited by the OCR. Security risk assessments are the foremost element of HIPAA enforcement actions: A look at recent trends suggests that HIPAA enforcement actions mainly target security risk assessments. This leads to harsh penalties, as happened in the case of New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP). The hefty $ 4.8 million penalty slapped in 2014 on this hospital was for data breach caused by insufficient security risk assessment. While this is the biggest sum fined; the OCR issued at least three other hospitals for putting in place inadequate security risk assessments in 2014. Risk management comes a close second: If inadequate security risk assessments come first in te

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: In this session we will discuss the HIPAA audit and enforcement programs and how they work, and discuss the areas that caused the most issues in prior audits. We will explore what kind of issues and what kind of entities had the most problems, and show where entities need to improve their compliance the most. We will also explore the typical risk issues that lead to breaches of health information and see how those issues may be a target for auditors in the new 2016 audits. We will review the contents of the HIPAA Audit Protocol used in 2012 to show what documentation needs to be on hand should your organization be selected for an audit in the new round. We will present methods for using the contents of the HIPAA Audit Protocol to build your own compliance plan by extracting and updating the contents and relating your compliance activities directly to the questions that might be asked. In this session we will discuss the HIPAA audit and enforcement regulations and processes, and how they apply to HIPAA covered entities and business associates. We will explain the enforcement regulations and the new, increased fines and new penalty levels, including new penalties for willful neglect of compliance that begin at $10,000. We will discuss what information and documentation must be prepared in advance so that you can be ready for an audit at any time, including sample information request forms and questions asked at prior audits. The session will also cover how to know if you may become the subject of an audit or enforcement action, and what you can do to help limit your exposure. We will discuss how most enforcement actions come about and what can be done to prevent incidents that lead to enforcement activity. The HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification regulations (and the recent changes to them) and how they will be audited will be explained. Documentation requirements for compliance will be explored and a framework of security policies necessary

Overview: Do you know the steps that going into making new clients aware of your practice? From the first time they become aware of you brand, every step you take and every interaction along the way is more important than you know! Learn how to keep your customers coming back for more and singing your praises to those that matter, as well as a surefire formula to make sure your marketing dollars are working as well as you think they are! (Hint: We'll be GIVING YOU the formula to use from here on out!) Areas Covered in the Session: Each step of the customer acquisition, retention and upsell process Formula to determine the ROI of marketing expenses Who Will Benefit: Medical Practice Owners Managers Marketing Associates Speaker Profile Mara L. Shorr BA, MBM-C, CAC I-VIII is the founder and managing partner of The Best Medical Business Solutions, a Florida-based medical practice consulting firm assisting practices with their operational, administrative and financial health. Jay served as the Vice President of Operations and Practice Administrator for a leading Board Certified Dermatologist and Cosmetic Surgeon in South Florida until her passing in June 2012, and is currently a partner in a leading South Florida plastic surgery center and medspa. A Temple University graduate, Jay has served as a professional motivational speaker for nearly a dozen industry organizations, including the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, THE Aesthetic Show, The Aesthetic Academy, The Medical Entrepreneur Symposium, the American Academy of Facial and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, Vegas Cosmetic Surgery and Global Aesthetics, and more! In addition, he is a Certified Medical Business Manager from Florida Atlantic University. He is a Certified Medical Business Manager (CMBM) from Florida Atlantic University and a Certified Aesthetic Consultant (Levels I-VII) from The Aesthetic Practice Associa

Quality Management in Healthcare: Quality management in healthcare is a critical requirement for healthcare organizations. Making quality management patient-centric comes first. Adapting and implementing standards and tools is the next step towards this. Quality management in healthcare is of critical importance to the healthcare industry and the patient. Everyone in the loop -from physicians to practitioners to support staff -needs to be aware of the importance of quality management in healthcare. The most basic purpose of imparting high quality management in healthcare is to make sure that the patient is well taken care of. For this to happen, the healthcare setting has to implement systems and processes. Quality management centers on process management. If organizations have to ensure that meaningful quality management in healthcare is being implemented; they have to adhere to processes. Adapting standards and instilling processes into the healthcare system is how healthcare providers can assure quality in healthcare. Patient is at the center of quality management in healthcare: Obviously, the first step in the direction of implementing quality management in healthcare is to make the healthcare setting's care and processes patient-oriented and patient-centric. Quality management in healthcare begins with the patient and should be fully tuned to her needs. As patients' requirements and expectations vary over time; quality management has to keep upgrading itself to keep up with the changing needs and demands. In line with this, the following means can go a long way in ensuring quality management in healthcare: The healthcare setting has to identify goals for ensuring quality management in healthcare. Each department has to be given measurable goals to reach. Implementing quality standards goes a long way in ensuring that quality management in healthcare is imparted in the organization. Six Sigma, ISO 9001 and ANOVA are some of the popular standards and tools t

Here are ten steps of claims submission via medical billing services to speed up the medical billing and coding process. Take notes and improve your revenue cycle management.

Here are ten steps of claims submission via medical billing services to speed up the medical billing and coding process. Take notes and improve your revenue cycle management.

Here are ten steps of claims submission via medical billing services to speed up the medical billing and coding process. Take notes and improve your revenue cycle management.

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

It is important to ensure food safety in hospitals Hospitals being what they are - where patients of almost all kinds visit or stay - are very potent sources of infection. Infection can arise from any part of the hospital. They can spread from patients to patients, from caregivers to patients, from patients to caregivers, from patients to support or administrative staff and vice versa, and so on. An often overlooked source of infection and contamination is the food that comes into hospitals. Food safety in hospitals is a very important element of hygiene First, an understanding of food safety in the context of hospitals is necessary. Food safety in hospitals is described as the scientific way by which food is prepared, handled and stored in hospital settings. Any food that is prepared in hospital kitchens are, like food prepared in other places such as canteens, hotels and restaurants and even homes, sourced from outside. This food comes from suppliers whose hygiene has to be ensured. Food hazards can come in many forms, including, but not limited to: Biological Chemical Physical Allergenic Hazards an Several other contributing factors It is in the process of procuring materials for food and preparing it in hospital kitchens that a major part of food safety in hospitals is compromised. There has to be a thorough mechanism to ensure that all these producers and suppliers follow regulatory requirements in ensuring that the food they produce and supply to hospitals is clean and safe. Literally thousands of patients get infected from over 250 kinds of bacteria, parasites and viruses when they consume food prepared in hospitals. Findings of a recent study It is pertinent to recall the findings of study done in May 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland. It carried out an examination of chicken supplied to and prepared in a hospital in this city. An astounding four fifths of these chickens were known to have been infected with E.coli, leading to its possible transmission to pati

HIPAA Survival Guide: The HIPAA Survival Guide is a set of practical help guides that seek to make compliance with HIPAA and HITECH easy for providers. This kit is some kind of checklist on what to keep in mind and implement to survive a HIPAA audit. The HIPAA Survival Guide was created as a need to comply with the HIPAA audit requirements. It evolved as a response to simplifying the HIPAA Privacy Rule and HIPAA Security Rule without its legal complexity. In other words, the framers of this Guide have developed this concept strictly as a guide, rather than as a legally enforceable set of rules. "Forest from the trees" approach: The HIPAA Survival Guide came into being in order to help users understand HIPAA and HITECH better. The approach the developers of this Guide adapted was what was called the "forest from the trees" way, because the aim was to help users navigate and wade through the complex text. It was aimed at helping them chaff and finesse the parts that required their compliance into simple terms. HIPAA Survival Guide is thus not a strict, legislative Act that lays down rules for conformity. No wonder, it was developed by the joint efforts of a Registered Nurse and an Attorney, who wanted to facilitate a greater understanding of the legislation's audit requirements. The basis on which this Guide came into existence was the HIPAA and HITECH background. It concerns itself with only the part of HIPAA and HITECH relating to a part of Covered Entities, namely providers. This is deliberate, since the aim of this Guide is to help small providers with guidelines aimed at simplifying their task. Important steps for HIPAA survival: The fundamental goal of the HIPAA Survival Guide is to equip providers with the knowledge of what needs to be kept in order and fine-tuned if they have to meet regulatory requirements. These are the thumb rules for the HIPAA Survival Guide: Documenting the provider's privacy, security and breach policies and revie

Wheelchair with comfortble reclining back headrest. This wheelchair allows the user to obtain a more comfortable position, equally for those who are unable to sit at 90 degrees, but need to lie back. Options include elevating legrests and cushioning. This type of Wheelchair is a superb light weight aluminium total care chair with all the actions one would wish. All fully adjustable, tilt in space, reclining back, multi positional headrest,elevating legrests and full pressure cushioning. The reclining deluxe manual wheelchair. This wheelchair has all the features one would need in a wheelchair, fully adjustable arms, legrests, reclining back and pop off wheels. To remove the wheels simply press the button in the centre of the wheel and slide them off. Ideal for those who need to recline in the wheelchair as the back rest on this wheelchair can be adjusted to any position. With cushions, elevating legrests and other options, this wheelchair can be configured to meet most needs. This chair does not have tilt in space mechanism or pressure care cushioning, for this must look to the tilt in space chair. Comfort and positioning tilt-in-space wheelchair which is durable, modern looking and comfortable. It offers adjustable seat height and depth, back height, length adjustable armpads and infinite recline and tilt. The multifunction tilt in space wheelchair focuses heavily on the need of each individual user which is why it has many adjustments in one frame to make sure it can alter to cater individual requirements. One of the main features of this chair is its tilt in space feature, which allows a step less adjustment of the backrest and the seat angle. This is easily operated from the push handle and can be quickly adjusted when needed. The design of the backrest and seating on the wheelchair helps ensure comfort and support for the user. Wheelchair comes with elevating leg rests fitted as standard which again are step less and easily adjusted. There is also the o

Overview: Safe hospital care in neither a science nor an art. It is a practice just like the practice by a doctor who combines hindsight of experience and foresight of imagination to come up with an outsight of the best interventions and best protocols. Over time the doctor standardizes the process but is vigilant to any unique requirements of each patient. Such an approach in patient safety is called hazard analysis and mitigation process. This webinar goes a big step farther. It covers innovation strategies to assure that the safety improvements result in a high return on investment and high value to the hospital, and protects the patients. Why should you Attend: About 400,000 patients die each year from hospital mistakes according to a senate hearing. Evidence based methods to reduce adverse, sentinel, and never events are available and successful in aerospace, nuclear, and chemical industries. Why not use them? We need a paradigm shift. We need it in a hurry! You cannot cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. Do not be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. No noble thing can be done without risks Areas Covered in the Session: The Etiologies of Unsafe Care Sufficient Understanding is a Pre-requisite to Safe Care Preventing "Indifferencity" to Enhance Patient Safety Continuous innovation is better than Continuous Improvement Innovations Should Start with Incidence Reports Hazard Analysis Fault Tree Analysis-the Best Tool for Harm Prevention Doing More with Less is Innovation Re-Invent Quality Management Human Errors may be Unpreventable, Preventing Harm is an Innovation Managing Safety: Lessons from Aerospace Protect Patients from Dangers in Medical Devices The Paradigm Pioneers Aequanimitas,The Best Known Strategy for Safe Care Who Will Benefit: Hospital senior management Hospital administrators Doctors Nursing staff Clinical engineers Radiology staff Infection control staff Patient advocates Speaker Profile Dev Raheja

There is no doubt in it that physicians need revenue for their survival, and medical billing services work day and night to help them meet their expenses efficiently. They focus on developing a strategy for an efficient billing solution to maximize revenue.