The Compliance Insider Blog | Healthcare Compliance Pros - Page 68

Providing Electronic Access

HIPAA HITECH and Omnibus have added to the requirement to allow patients to receive a copy of their medical records. In addition to a paper copy, they now have the right to receive an electronic copy if the provider...

Only 5 Days left until HIPAA Omnibus . . . How Many Hours Will Compliance Take?

Healthcare organizations will spend 32.8 million hours complying with the modified HIPAA Omnibus Rule, according to the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights. They state that the bulk of...

Preventing Needlesticks Could Save $1B per Year

Despite federal mandates put in place 13 years ago to protect healthcare workers from needlesticks, they are still being stuck at an alarming rate. By some estimates, some 600,000 workers in medical clinics suffer...

Are Your Business Associates ready for the September 23 Deadline?

Last week we asked you if your practice was ready for the September 23 Omnibus enforcement deadline. How about your Business Associates? Are they ready? As the date approaches, an error that many business associates...

GI Scopes Found to be Infection Hazards

A recent report released by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) chronicled a study in which up to 30 percent of scopes used in gastro-intestinal procedures such as...

Are You Ready for September 23?

The new HIPAA Omnibus Rule deadline for compliance is nearly here. Are you ready? What do you have to do? Learn about the Rule. Apply it in your practice. Train your employees on the changes that have been made....

Implications of Improper Waste Disposal

If you've ever gagged at having to swallow your pride at work, be thankful that medical waste was not also on the menu. A story from "down under" graphically illustrates for healthcare facilities the importance of...

Huge Breach Reported: Over 4 Million Patient Records

The theft of four computers from a Chicago-area physician group practice may have exposed information on more than 4 million patients. Advocate Medical Group, posted reportson its website that the burglary of four...

Blood Exposures Risky with IV Catheters

For nurses, working with IV catheters poses a significant risk for blood exposures, yet most incidents go unreported. Healthcare workers place more than 300 million short peripheral intravenous catheters every...

Highlights for Compliance: HIPAA Omnibus for CEs and BAs

Time is growing short! Here are some highlights from the Omnibus final rule covered entities and business associates should be mindful of to ensure compliance by Sept. 23, 2013. Healthcare Compliance Pros provides...