The Compliance Insider 

Major U.S. healthcare data breaches have surpassed a significant milestone: More than 500 breaches have been confirmed since September 2009, when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began keeping tabs.... Continue Reading

Q: When OSHA insists on the use of safety needles and scalpels, isn't it overstepping its authority by telling doctors how to practice medicine? A: That's not how the agency sees things. With regard to the use of... Continue Reading

This is a question that is asked frequently. Here is the answer that will help you in your MSDS training. Q: We use an electronic MSDS access system. Are there any special training requirements we need to know about?... Continue Reading

CMS did not meet several Recovery Act requirements in reporting 14 breaches of PHI, according to an OIG report. CMS reported that it had 14 breaches of PHI requiring notification under the Recovery Act between... Continue Reading

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

While risk analysis is a necessary component to reach and achieve the Meaningful Use requirements, it is also a necessary tool to reach any sort of substantial compliance with many other standards and implementation... 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

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

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

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