We had a patient in our ER this evening who presented with dehiscence of a ventral hernia repair which was done at another facility several days ago. Patient and his family were adamant they did not want to return to that facility. The ER physicians called all the surgeons … Read more
Is your organization up to date on HIPAA compliant patient access to their own records? In 2016 OCR issued new guidance setting out standards for patient access to records as a high priority for HIPAA COMPLIANCE. The guidance can be found at https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/access/index.html In response to the new guidance and to aid covered entities … Read more
In what Atty. Gen. Jeff Session is characterizing as the largest Health Care Fraud Enforcement Action in Department of Justice history, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force brought charges on July 13, 2017, involving 412 charged defendants across 41 federal districts of the US. The allegations included complaints against 115 doctors, nurses and other licensed medical … Read more
It is not that we don’t have our faults … it is that even with our faults, the values that formed this country and the people who have stood for those values although embattled and beleaguered continue to fight for the Constitution. That fight rages on today at home and abroad against enemies foreign and … Read more
National Cyber Awareness System: 06/27/2017 12:56 PM EDT US-CERT has received multiple reports of Petya ransomware infections occurring in networks in many countries around the world. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that infects a computer and restricts users’ access to the infected machine until a ransom is paid to unlock it. Individuals and … Read more
Do you know those pesky voter phone pollsters that drove you crazy for the two years leading up to the election — and maybe still are? Well one of them just compromised enough of your personal data to target you for the rest of your life. It doesn’t matter where you stand politically. Voter data … Read more
CMS says it will be going after more than $700 million that the OIG discovered in improper payments under the Meaningful Use program that made incentive payments for implementation of electronic health records. The OIG audit found that approximately 12% of the incentive payments were improperly paid because providers failed to maintain documentation to support … Read more
My take — this was a state-sponsored test-run for a “false flag” attack on an international scale, but who the true source is remains unknown. Web gossip suggests the ransomware was stolen by hacking the NSA, but again this is unknown for certain. Perhaps the most important lesson from this attack on more than 250,000 … Read more
A number of my subscribers have been around since the very beginning of EMTALA, and many of those folks remember notes about my kids. Some even met my son and daughter. Well, for those of you who fall into this group, I just wanted to issue an update on my daughter that might make you … Read more
Most hospitals, clinics, and physician practices have fancy websites these days, but those websites may be the newest source for law suits – ones that your insurance may not cover. It is not clear whether state and federal accessibility laws apply to all websites, but good risk management practice suggests that healthcare organizations convert their … Read more