When evaluating a family's ability, willingness, and availability to provide needed care to patients, discharge planners may become aware of scenarios that are not reasonable or safe for the patient.
Business associates (BA) may not be the target of upcoming HIPAA compliance audits, but failure to comply with the regulations could be very costly, says Tom Dumez, CHP.
The time for healthcare organizations to undertake a review of their operations is now-OCR anticipates that its long-awaited HIPAA compliance audit program will be under way this fall.
According to a survey on coder productivity published in the May edition of MRB, 83% of those with remote coding programs reported that coder productivity either remained the same or increased after a remote coding program was implemented at their facility. That's great news for those considering establishing a remote coding program. And there are many reasons to do so, both for your coding staff and for your hospital.
Don't let the new patient-centered communication standards catch you up short. These standards, which took effect January 2011 and begin affecting survey findings January 2012, cover not only the Rights of the Individual chapter, but the Provision of Care; Human Resources; and Record of Care, Treatment, and Services chapters as well.
