Hospital Access Management articles from May 2003

Hospital Access Management archives from May 2003

HIPAA deadline may have come and gone, but privacy concerns continue: privacy policies will continue to tighten, access managers say.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
May 1, 2003... Although the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy standard became effective in April, hospitals will be improving and refining their HIPAA policies for some time to come. Several access directors working to...

Take a deep breath, now prepare for EDI deadline.(electronic data interchange )
May 1, 2003... Testing already should have begun Just as access managers take a breath after rushing to make sure their hospitals are in compliance with the privacy standard, it's time to kick into gear for the upcoming HIPAA transaction code-set...

SARS: what U.S. hospitals can learn from Canada.(severe acute respiratory syndrome)
May 1, 2003... Hospital clinicians in the United States are watching with grave concern as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)--a rapidly emerging infection with unclear treatment options--strikes the health care system of their Canadian colleagues....

Still need HIPAA help? Check out on-line sites: resources clarify regulation concepts.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
May 1, 2003... AS hospitals fine-tune their HIPAA compliance policies and procedures, savvy access managers continue to find the Internet a rich source of information. It's particularly helpful for those who might still be involved in a crash course in HIPAA...

HIPAA interest, expertise leads to job expansion: `it's a wonderful fit'. (Career Paths).(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
May 1, 2003... While providing headaches to many health care professionals across the nation, the challenges of HIPAA implementation led to a promotion and career expansion for at least one access services director. When discussions began several years...

Does statute require MSE for scheduled tests in ED? Treat patient appropriately, expert says. (EMTALA Q & A).(medical screening examination, emergency department)(Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act)
May 1, 2003... [Editor's note: This column runs occasionally in Hospital Access Management and addresses questions regarding the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).] Question: Some of our physicians insist on sending their patients to our...

New access director looks at ED collection: effect on charity programs considered. (Access Feedback).(Lori Judge reviews emergency department financial management)
May 1, 2003... Lori Judge, MS, HAS, director of patient financial services at St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead, KY, offers some feedback on her hospital's efforts at cash collection in the emergency department (ED). "At this time, we have...

HCA changes policies give more financial aid.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The hospital chain HCA recently announced plans to change its charitable care policies to provide financial relief to more of its charity patients and give needs-based discounts to uninsured patients who receive nonelective care at its...

More ED crowding seen at large, urban hospitals.(emergency department)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Hospitals experiencing the most problems with emergency department (ED) crowding are located in large metropolitan areas with high population growth and a large percentage of uninsured people, according to a recent report by the federal...

HIPAA compliance: technology plus culture plus operations: train-the-trainer approach saved money on consultants.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
May 1, 2003... For Baystate Health System, a $1 billion integrated health system operating in western Massachusetts, HIPAA compliance has been seen as more than a technology issue. It also is a major cultural and operational issue that has an impact on...

CMS issues HIPAA checklist for provider compliance: checklist addresses business associates.(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services )(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a checklist to help health care providers who do business electronically and their business partners to comply with the administrative...

Payment processes could be changed: encryption requirements eliminated.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Medical Banking Project founder John Casillas says that one of the changes in the final HIPAA security rule eliminated any requirement to encrypt electronically transmitted protected health information, even over the Internet or other open...

Physician groups scared of HIPAA: small groups have few resources available.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
May 1, 2003... San Francisco-area attorney Steven Fleisher, who is HIPAA consultant to the California Medical Association and provides compliance services to providers and employers, says that health care providers working in solo and small groups have the...

5 ways comply with HIPAA oral privacy regs: consider simple design changes.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
May 1, 2003... When an orthopedic resident was paged repeatedly to assess a patient with an open fracture of the forearm, he failed to respond. The resident was paged multiple times and took more than an hour to get to the emergency department (ED). When he...

URAC accreditation standards out for comment: standards to provide a guide for internal verification.(Utilization Review Accreditation Committee)
May 1, 2003... URAC has released a draft set of HIPAA Security Accreditation standards for public comment. Once the program is completed, it will enable health care organizations to display a commitment to information security and demonstrate that they have...

Time needed to document security compliance.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says that the nearly four million covered entities that must comply with the final HIPAA security rule will spend 64.5 million hours documenting their compliance efforts. HHS included...

OCR pushes for voluntary compliance.(Office of Civil Rights)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR) director Richard Campanelli says that voluntary compliance with the HIPAA medical privacy rule is the best way to protect health information. He also told a HIPAA...

Help available for employers.(Employee Benefits Security Administration service)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has started a HIPAA Compliance Assistance Program to help employers and other covered entities comply with new privacy regulations. The program addresses many...