Healthcare Risk Management – March 1, 2013
March 1, 2013
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Final HIPAA rule increases penalties, liability for associates
The maximum penalty for a data breach under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is now $1.5 million, six times higher than the original fine under the law. That change is just one of the significant changes in the final HIPAA rule released recently by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). -
Patients have more rights to records under final HIPAA rule
These are some of the key changes in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) final rule released recently by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): -
ACA changes will increase risk in finance, tech areas
As provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) come into play this year and for the next several years, the way healthcare is provided could change drastically, and that change has the potential for new or increased risks. At the same time, healthcare providers are taking on more risk through readmission penalties, bundled payments, and population health payments. -
Traditional risk concerns could see benefit from ACA
For traditional risk management concerns, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) actually might offer hope, says Ruselle Robinson, JD, an attorney at Boston-based Posternak Blankstein & Lund. A goal of the ACA is to improve quality of care and make it more patient-centered while reducing costs, so success in those areas should result in lower risk and liability for providers, he says. -
Alert finance leaders to impending risks from ACA
Revenue and finance will be affected significantly by healthcare reform, and key aspects of reform already are impacting revenue streams, says Erin M. OConnor, Esq., practice leader with Cammack LaRhette Consulting in New York City. -
Fraud and abuse will continue to be a challenge
Hospital risk managers need to think about how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is changing the laws governing fraud and abuse, says Kathy Tayon, JD, shareholder with the law firm of Fowler White Boggs in Fort Lauderdale, FL. -
Perinatal program lowers annual claims 39%
Initial results from one of the nations largest and most sophisticated perinatal improvement initiatives suggest hospitals can reduce harm to babies and mothers, and lower associated liability claims and pay-outs, through the use of high-reliability perinatal teams. -
Care bundles, communication, teamwork get results
Leveraging knowledge gained from previous initiatives, including an Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)/Ascension Health/Premier collaboration, hospitals in the Premier Perinatal Safety Initiative (PPSI) use two methods to create high-reliability healthcare teams: increased adherence to evidence-based care bundles, and enhanced communication and teamwork. -
ACOs will require operational, cultural changes
The growing prominence of the accountable care organization (ACO) model offers many potential benefits, but it also comes with many potential hazards, according to a recent report from Marsh Risk Consulting, based in New York City. -
Surgical ‘never events’ occur 4,000 times per year
After an analysis of national malpractice claims, patient safety researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, estimate that a surgeon in the United States leaves a foreign object such as a sponge or a towel inside a patients body after an operation 39 times a week, performs the wrong procedure on a patient 20 times a week, and operates on the wrong body site 20 times a week. -
HCA must pay $162 million for charity care problems
Healthcare giant HCA, based in Nashville, TN, must pay a Kansas City, MO, charitable foundation $162 million and undergo extensive auditing after a judge found that the for-profit hospital operator broke key agreements regarding charity care and capital expenditures in its billion-dollar purchase of hospitals from Health Midwest in 2002. -
11% of physician career has open med mal claims
The average physician spends 50.7 months, or roughly 11% of a 40-year career with an unresolved and open malpractice claim, according to a new study from Health Affairs. -
Study finds ways to improve EHR quality measures
A federally funded study by Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City demonstrates ways in which quality measurement from electronic health records (EHRs) can be improved. -
Legal Review & Commentary: Transcription error results in medication dose that is fatal and $140 million verdict
News: A 59-year-old woman was discharged from a hospital after undergoing treatment for a clogged dialysis port. -
Legal Review & Commentary: Delayed diagnosis of aortic dissection results in $4.5M award for wrongful death
News: A 43-year-old man presented to the emergency department with complaints of chest pain.