by Gary Pritts | May 19, 2015 | CMS Quality Payment Programs, General News
On 4/15/2015 CMS proposed significant simplifications to the Meaningful Use Stage 2 rules. For physicians, this provides significant relief from the complexities of Stage 2. Highlights include: For 2015, reporting period is changed to any 90 day period Stage 2...
by Gary Pritts | May 15, 2015 | CMS Quality Payment Programs, General News
On April, 15, 2015, HHS proposed significant restructuring of the Meaningful Use rules for Stages 1 & 2. Overall this is good news for healthcare providers, many of whom struggled under the tough Stage 2 rules. Here is a more detailed look at the changes:...
by Gary Pritts | May 1, 2015 | CMS Quality Payment Programs, General News
(Editor’s Note 11/14/2015: If you have arrived here, check our post on the final update of these rules at CMS Unveils Long Awaited Meaningful Use Rule Changes for 2015.) On April 15, 2015, CMS published a proposed new rule simplifying the Meaningful Use...
by Eagle Editor | Feb 5, 2015 | General News
Under current Healthcare policies and climate, this could be a good year for FQHC’s — Federally Qualified Health Centers. Take, for example, the findings of one industry group based at the University of Michigan — CHRT (the Center for Healthcare...
by Gary Pritts | Oct 16, 2014 | General News, HIPAA
Many years ago, the federal government issued guidance that clarified that traditional analog phone systems are NOT subject to the HIPAA Security rule provisions. So, what about your VoIP phone system? Many organizations have migrated to VoIP service. VoIP (or “Voice...
by Gary Pritts | Oct 13, 2014 | General News, HIPAA
Can former employees still access your organization’s PHI? A 014 survey of employees by Osterman Research found that a whopping 89% of respondents retained access (in the form of a login and password) to at least one system of a former employer – such as...
by Gary Pritts | Oct 9, 2014 | General News, HIPAA
During a traffic stop and arrest August, the Tampa Police found patient documents regarding patients of Tampa General Hospital in the car. According to the hospital’s statement regarding the incident, a subsequent internal investigation by the hospital revealed that...
by Gary Pritts | Oct 7, 2014 | CMS Quality Payment Programs, General News
Medicare Payment Adjustments will produce significant, long-term financial loss for physicians who do not participate in Meaningful Use As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Congress mandated payment adjustments be applied to Medicare...
by Gary Pritts | Sep 22, 2014 | General News, HIPAA
Identifying routine disclosures is key to safeguarding patient PHI During what Jersey City Medical Center called “a part of routine hospital operations,” an employee sent a UPS package containing to a company engaged by the New Jersey State Medicaid program. The...
by Gary Pritts | Sep 12, 2014 | General News, HIPAA
A list of nearly 5 million Gmail email addresses linked with passwords were leaked on a Russian Bitcoin security forum this week, but Google says not to worry. According to this article from Forbes.com, “There’s speculation that the addresses may hay been stolen from...
