Despite increasing recognition of the importance of the social determinants of health, only 24% of hospitals and 16% of physician offices in the U.S. screen for all five social needs prioritized by CMS, according to a new study.
Data such as patient names, birthdates, and Social Security numbers from more than 16 million medical images of patients worldwide are unprotected on the Internet, according to a new report.
Q: Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule strictly prohibit the disclosure or request of an entire medical record? If not, does there need to be a case-by-case justification every time an entire record is disclosed?
This week’s Medicare updates include an article for health care professionals to use as a resource throughout the 2019-20 flu season, an OIG data brief on using CERT data to identify high-risk home health agencies, revisions to the Claims Processing Manual regarding billing for Part B inpatient services, and more!
More than two-thirds of Americans surveyed had at least one unmet social need in the past year and more than a quarter said an unmet social need has been a barrier to health, according to a report released in June by Kaiser Permanente.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reached a settlement with Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, a Florida hospital, for allegedly violating the HIPAA Privacy Rule’s right of access provision when it failed to give a mother timely access to her unborn child’s records, according to an OCR press release.
Q: I work for a small rural hospital, and we have a lot of budget limitations for technology upgrades. Can we allow clinical staff to use their personal cell phones and mobile devices to communicate with patients? If so, how can we keep our calls, email, and text messages HIPAA compliant?
This week’s Medicare updates include information on Hurricane Dorian waivers for Florida, the Carolinas, and Georgia; a final rule on provider enrollment changes aimed at minimizing the risk of fraudulent practices; the October update of the ambulatory surgical center payment system, and more!
