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The Compliance Insider 

Uses and Disclosures *Reminder*

Uses and Disclosures *Reminder*

It is good to remember that under HIPAA Privacy and as outlined on your NPP, the patient has many rights. One of these is the right to request an accounting of all non-TPO disclosures (any disclosure that is not for...

Physician Fee Schedule Changes for 2012

Physician Fee Schedule Changes for 2012

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a final rule with a comment period that updates payment policies and rates for physicians and non-physician practitioners (NPPs) for services...

Occupations Covered under the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard

Occupations Covered under the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard

There have been some recent inquiries about what healthcare occupations the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens standard covers. As a reminder, the Bloodborne Pathogen Standard does not list occupations that are automatically...

Attorney Requests for Medical Records *Reminder*

Attorney Requests for Medical Records *Reminder*

Q. A patient signed an authorization eight months ago, and her attorney is now submitting it to obtain a copy of her medical records. Is this authorization still valid, or do we need to get the patient to sign a new...

Social Distancing to Avoid Illness

Social Distancing to Avoid Illness

The goal of social distancing is to avoid contact with others as much as possible when contagion is a risk to avoid the spread of infection. Here are some suggestions for the workplace. "Social distancing" is...

The New HIPAA Enforcement: HIPAA Audits

The New HIPAA Enforcement: HIPAA Audits

Leon Rodriguez, the new enforcer at the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights, describes his HIPAA enforcement agenda. "As I've learned as a prosecutor and then as a defense lawyer,...

Employee EMR Access

Employee EMR Access

Q. May we allow employees who have been granted access to PHI through the workforce clearance procedure to access their own PHI through the electronic medical record (EMR) without first requiring them to sign a...

Halloween and Holiday Decorations Reminders

Halloween and Holiday Decorations Reminders

With Halloween fast approaching, it's time to remind staff about safety compliance with regard to the variety of holiday decorations that will be present through the end of the year. Well-timed handouts to...

The Latest on the ACO Final Rule

The Latest on the ACO Final Rule

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has sent a Shared Savings/Accountable Care Organizations final rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. OMB review is one of the last steps before...

Faxing PHI to the Wrong Fax Number

Faxing PHI to the Wrong Fax Number

Q: A fax containing PHI is sent to an incorrect fax number. Did the covered entity (CE) or business associate (BA) violate HIPAA? Must we include this incident in the patient disclosure accounting record? A:...