The Compliance Insider 

Your practice must always observe and comply with the concept of "Universal Precautions." Your employees must be instructed to treat all patients, all blood, and other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) as if... Continue Reading

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced recently a final rule establishing a health plan identifier (HPID), that officials say will boost standardization within HIPAA transactions and increase the efficiency of... Continue Reading

Medicare will soon start fining hospitals that have too many patients readmitted within 30 days of discharge due to complications. The penalties are part of a broader push under President Barack Obama's health law to... Continue Reading

This story should be a warning to managers of all practices. This type of situation can occur when employees are not trained to be vigilant about their email practices while at work. The state of Kentucky is... Continue Reading

Move over hepatitis B, C, and HIV, and make room for MRSA infections as a consequence of unsafe injection practices. A recent post on the CDC Safe Healthcare blog by Dr. Michael Bell, associate director for... Continue Reading

Almost twice as many people were affected by healthcare data breaches in 2011 as in 2010, according to a report released last week. The total number of breaches dropped by 32% to 145 but the number of people affected... Continue Reading

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Associates, Inc. (collectively referred to as "MEEI") have agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) $1.5 million to... Continue Reading

This question is asked quite often. Let's try to put the problem to rest! Q: What guidance does OSHA give on recapping fill needles? A: OSHA is pretty blunt about recapping needles. They don't recommend... Continue Reading

There's been a lot of hoopla surrounding some of the more eye-catching provisions of the two final rules released last week defining and setting the standard for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use. But one of the most... Continue Reading

Criminals who plot to defraud the Government and steal money from the American people have a new target: people with diabetes. Please pass along the following information to your Medicare patients with diabetes. ... Continue Reading