In August, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a settlement with New England Dermatology P.C., known as New England Dermatology and Laser Center, over the improper disposal of PHI, which is a potential HIPAA Privacy Rule violation.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently released a data brief on billing risks associated with Medicare telehealth services during first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In recent years, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has taken aim at case managers and discharge planners who violated federal anti-kickback statutes—specifically those who took items or payments in exchange for post-acute referrals.
Starting on October 6, the definition of electronic health information (EHI) will include “the entire scope of the EHI definition [i.e., ePHI that is or would be in a Designated Record Set (DRS)].”
Medicare beneficiaries who took part in telemedicine visits during the pandemic were more likely to stick with medication therapies to treat their opioid use disorder (OUD) and less likely to experience a drug overdose, according to a JAMA Psychiatry study.
A report released last month by the American Hospital Association (AHA), called Commercial Health Plans’ Policies Compromise Patient Safety and Raise Costs, found that not only is the cost of private health insurance raising affordability issues for American consumers, but policies, such as prior authorization requirements, may increasingly be putting patients at risk and driving up hospital administrative costs.
