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A security consulting firm that is providing security risk assessment and compliance review services for small health care related businesses says one way to increase incentives for physicians to come into compliance with HIPAA requirements would be for malpractice insurers to offer reduced premiums to those who have done a risk assessment and are moving forward on implementation.
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The latest survey of 631 providers, payers, companies, and clearinghouses by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) indicates that as of mid-January, only half had completed testing for the Transaction and Code Standards (TCS), which standardized what information must be contained in electronic claims and how it should be transmitted.
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Thirty-six million Americans do not have access to basic health care because they live in communities with an acute shortage of health care providers.
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Access managers could benefit by stretching a bit beyond their boundaries and actively seeking participation in the clinical side of health care, suggests Karen McKinley, RN, CHAM, vice president of patient access and care management for Geisinger Health System in Danville, PA.
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Nursing organization adopts 2004 platforms; OSHA and CDC establish hand hygiene policies; CMS tightens claims processing requirements.
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Health care delivery has grown more sophisticated and complex in response to changing patient needs and emerging technologies. Regardless of length and breadth of the patient care continuum, the goal should be to deliver seamless, patient-centered care. However, with few exceptions, that goal has not been realized.
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Medication errors associated with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps most often are caused by inadequate patient and staff education, misuse by well-intentioned family members, and improper patient selection, according to results of a recent survey by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in Huntingdon Valley, PA.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has been criticized for not being more directive and aggressive on preventing needlestick injuries, has posted an impressive, interactive workbook on the issue.
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As many providers already know, the Stark law prohibits physicians from making referrals to providers who render designated health services (DHS) if the referring physicians have an ownership or investment interest in, or compensation arrangement with, the provider.
Exceptions to these general rules were published in the form of final regulations on Jan. 4, 2001, and are known as Phase I Stark rules. On March 26, 2004, Phase II Stark regulations were published as interim final rules in the Federal Register.
