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McBrayer Blogs
Showing 51 posts in Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Secure Text Messaging in a HIPAA World?
Texting is becoming an increasingly acceptable form of communication in the business world, but can it be relied upon in the health care industry? There are numerous advantages to texting in the fast-paced world of health care. In an environment where time is of the essence, voicemails and pagers can slow down providers’ care and fail to convey adequate information. A text, on the other hand, is both immediate and can be detail-specific. In addition, texting can involve more than one sender and/or receiver in a closed-loop conversation, and, unlike through the paging system, a sender can be notified when the message has been read by the receiver(s). Text messaging can not only improve an entity’s efficiency, but it can also serve as a way to easily connect with patients, thereby improving quality of care. More >
More Patient Access, but Less Understanding?
On February 3, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a Final Rule granting a patient, or his/her personal representative or designee, direct access to the patient’s completed laboratory test reports, if so requested. In addition, the Final Rule eliminates the exception under the HIPAA Privacy Rule to an individual’s right to access his or her protected health information when it is held by a CLIA-certified or CLIA-exempt laboratory. More >
Small Devices & Big Consequences: Why Medical Practices Need Encryption
On Tuesday, I shared information about the U.S. Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Civil Rights’ (“OCR”) first settlement with a medical practice for alleged violations of the breach notification provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act. The $150,000 settlement was made with Adult & Pediatric Dermatology, P.C., (“the Practice”) after the entity reported a stolen jump drive that contained PHI of approximately 2,200 patients. More >
Coming to a Medical Practice near You: HIPAA and Hi-Tech Audits
On December 26, 2013, the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) announced its first settlement with a covered entity for not having policies and procedures in place to address the breach notification provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act. Adult & Pediatric Dermatology, P.C., (“the Practice”) of Concord, Massachusetts agreed to settle potential violations with a $150,000 penalty and corrective action plan. More >
Part II: Are U.S. Providers Ready to Catch Up in Medical Coding?
If you are a provider and are unsure about the differences in ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes or why there is a need for implementation, I highly suggest you read Tuesday’s post. More >
Top Ten Health Law Issues for Physicians, Health Systems and Providers in 2014
Change is the one constant that physicians, health systems and other providers face in 2014 as the ACA and its myriad regulations become effective along with increasing review and scrutiny from not just state and federal regulators, but also private companies with state and federal contracts to review and audit claims, cost reports, and billing practices. So, listed below are the top ten areas that physicians and other providers should watch in 2014. More >
Guidance on Mobile Medical Apps
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) issued its much-anticipated final guidance for developers of mobile medical applications (“apps”). Apps run on mobile communication devices and can present unique problems not only to consumers, but also to providers who must walk a fine line between meaningful use requirements and HIPAA regulations regarding personal health information (“PHI”). More >
The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure Adopts the Model Policy
Over the summer, the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure adopted the Model Policy for the Appropriate Use of Social Media and Social Networking in Medical Practice (“Model Policy”) that was issued by the Federation of State Medical Boards (“FSMB”). FSMB created their policy in 2012 to help medical boards provide guidance and education about issues related to social media. The FSMB Model Policy followed the American Medical Association’s (“AMA”) 2010 “Professionalism in the Use of Social Media” policy. Both incorporate the same principles, but the FSMB offers more concrete examples of conduct that should be avoided in social media activity. More >
PHI May Be In More Places Than You Think
A recent HIPAA settlement serves as an important reminder that protected health information (PHI) may be stored on “ordinary” office equipment such as printers, photocopiers, scanners and fax machines, and not just on computer hard drives. On August 14, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a settlement with the not-for-profit managed care plan Affinity Health Plan, Inc. (“Affinity”) for over $1.2 million in connection with HIPAA Privacy and Security breaches stemming from PHI stored on a photocopier hard drive. More >
Plan for the Worst, Hope for the Best: Why You Must Have a HIPAA Risk Assessment
“The single biggest and most common compliance weakness is the lack of a timely and thorough risk analysis.” More >
