Healthcare Risk Management – February 1, 2010
February 1, 2010
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Feds may increase enforcement with HITECH, seek high penalties
After one year of HITECH, risk managers are realizing that this rule is serious business. The stakes are higher, and there is reason to believe that federal prosecutors will use HITECH more aggressively in 2010 than they did during its first year.Past compliance efforts may not be enough
The substantial penalties possible with HITECH are good reason for risk managers to take a fresh look at their HIPAA compliance programs...Many vendors not ready for HITECH compliance
Vendors may be the Achilles heel of HITECH compliance...Watch for interstate patients and enforcement
Because HIPAA can be enforced by state attorneys general and not just the feds, risk managers should study any interstate connections that could come into play if there is a privacy breach...Choice of tool can lower risk of airway fires
About 650 surgical fires are reported in U.S. hospitals each year, according to the nonprofit ECRI Institute in Plymouth Meeting, PA, and there are another three to four times as many near-misses. Fires during surgery can be extremely serious, causing significant injuries and death to both patients and clinicians.Patient catches fire during organ surgery
A recent example of a surgical fire reported by Mary A. Herman, MD, PhD, assistant professor of anesthesiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, illustrates how such an incident can occur in routine circumstances.Splash and splatter risk often underestimated
The risk of infection from exposure to a patient's bodily fluids gained great attention over the past 20 years, spurred by the risk of exposure to HIV, and that heightened awareness has led to improvements in needlestick prevention. But another route of exposure to bodily fluids has not received adequate attention, say some experts.Patients' mishandled funds could lead to RAC audits
Health care providers are becoming more familiar with the many errors that can trigger a RAC audit, but what is much lesser known among the health care community is that a patient's mismanagement of Medicare set-aside (MSA) funds post-settlement also could trigger an audit.Legal Review & Commentary: Suit alleges reaction to medication led to Stevens Johnson syndrome, death in elderly patient
During a three- to four-month period, an 86-year-old man with a history of severe and varied health problems was transferred back and forth between a local hospital and nursing home for recurring urinary tract infections (UTIs).Legal Review & Commentary: OB/GYN case results in $30M verdict
A pregnant woman sought prenatal care from a hospital-based OB/GYN practice. During the pregnancy, the woman had several ultrasounds that revealed some density in the fetal heart.HIPAA Regulatory Alert: HHS increases penalties for HIPAA violations
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published an interim final rule incorporating provisions of the Health Information Technology for Clinical and Economic Health (HITECH) Act related to HIPAA violations that significantly increase the penalties it can levee against employers and health care providers.HIPAA Regulatory Alert: Sharing user names is a HIPAA security violation
What's a shared user name between friends? Quite a bit, when it comes to the HIPAA security rule...HIPAA Regulatory Alert: HIPAA requirements, penalties increased
According to the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, the economic stimulus package passed by Congress last year included several changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) involving privacy of patient information: