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The Compliance Insider 

The “Small” Practice and a “Large” Penalty

The "Small" Practice and a "Large" Penalty

Because so few organizations have been penalized for failing to comply with HIPAA, many healthcare organizations, especially smaller ones, figured they could get away with paying scant attention to compliance with...

NLRB Posting Rule Blocked

NLRB Posting Rule Blocked

A rule slated to take effect April 30, 2012, that would force most U.S. employers to post a notice of employees' rights under labor law has been blocked by a federal circuit court on the heels of a federal district...

Medicare Secondary Payer Rules Reminder

Medicare Secondary Payer Rules Reminder

CMS recently reminded providers of their responsibilities under the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Rules. Under the MSP Rules, Medicare is secondary to certain other payers in the following circumstances: ...

Cleaning Logs

Cleaning Logs

Q. How long does OSHA require us to keep a cleaning log for a bio-safety cabinet? A. OSHA does not require a log for environmental housekeeping, only that the cleaning schedule be posted. For logs involving...

Entitlement of Records

Entitlement of Records

Q: When is Adult Protective Services (APS) entitled to copies of a patient's medical record without a signed authorization? An adult patient was transferred from a hospital to our skilled nursing facility for...

HHS Announced Delay of ICD-10

HHS Announced Delay of ICD-10

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Announced Today the Delay of ICD-10 until October 1, 2014 Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced in a new press release a proposed rule that would delay the compliance date for...

Requirements for Notification

Requirements for Notification

This question was recently submitted by a client, but this situation could be encountered by any practice: Q. What constitutes a privacy breach that requires notification to patients? Recently, a thief...

Proposed New I-9 Form

Proposed New I-9 Form

On March 27, 2012, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services published a notice of proposed revision to the Form I-9 in the Federal Register. Most notably, the proposed form is two pages rather than one page, and...

HIPAA Pitfalls at Physicians Practices

HIPAA Pitfalls at Physicians Practices

The following is a list of common HIPAA violations seen regularly in physician offices. Check your practice against this list to see if your staff commits the same common violations, and if so, address these...

Care and Handling of Fire Extinguishers

Care and Handling of Fire Extinguishers

During recent OSHA inspections, violations involving fire extinguishers have become more common. OSHA routinely evaluates the presence, placement, use, maintenance, and testing of fire extinguishers. These...