Home Health & Hospice Week
Your Employees' Facebook Posts Can Come Back To Haunt Them -- And You
Don't risk patients' privacy just to blow off steam. The last thing your home care organization needs is to deal with the fallout from an employee turning to social media to blow off steam after working with your patients. Think a HIPAA breach won't happen? Think again. Alexandra Thran of Westerly Hospital in Charlestown, R.I. took to her Facebook account to recount a few of her emergency room encounters. Though she was careful not to reveal any patient names, people still figured out who she was talking about, which is a breach of protected health information under HIPAA, according to a Rhode Island Department of Health press release. After realizing her mistake, Thran shut down her account, but the damage had been done. She was fired from the hospital and forced to pay a $500 administrative fee. Lesson learned: Even if your clinicians have placed strict controls on who can view their Facebook pages, their friends and family members will still have access to any content they post -- including any patient information they share. Coach your staffers to never take to social media when they need to deal with work stress. Facebook, Twitter, and other networking sites are never truly private.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Prospective Payment System:
HHA Payment Rates Slashed 3% For 2012
Prospective payment system proposed rule holds bad news for home health agencies. Get ready to [...] - Regulations:
Face-To-Face Proposal Could Ease HHAs'Workload
Under new rule, some physicians could report F2F encounters like NPPs. The face-to-face physician encounter [...] - Referrals:
Improve Your Physician Relationships With SBAR Tool
Tip: Establish a rapport with office staff to hasten communication improvement. Home care providers may [...] - Policies & Procedures:
Use These Doc Communication Boosters
Put an end to phone tag. Already using an SBAR tool to plan your communication [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
Chicago-Area HHA Owner Indicted On Fraud
'Lavish life - Industry Note:
Know Your FISS Status Codes To Speed Claims Payment
Don't waste time trying to change claims that are in an 'S' location. Wondering what's [...] - Industry Note:
Get RAP Dates Right
Don't forget to complete the "THROUGH" date "THROUGH" date on your Request for Anticipated Payment [...] - Industry Note:
Note These Changes To Hospice Cost Report Form
The hospice cost report form and instructions have some changes related to inpatient general care [...] - Industry Note:
DME Bidding Doesn't Harm Benes, CMS Maintains
Durable medical equipment suppliers may see more competitive bidding in their future. Based on a [...] - Industry Note:
Why Copays Are Bad
Lawmaker negotiations over the U.S. deficit and government spending cuts continue, with Medicare providers offered [...] - Industry Note:
Medicaid HHA Fraudsters Sentenced To Years In Jail
The crackdown on Medicaid fraud in home care continues. In Winston-Salem, N.C., two Medicaid HHA [...] - Industry Note:
2 IL Health Systems Merge
A new merger in Illinois will create the largest Catholic health system in the state, [...] - Industry Note:
NH Agency Expands
The Homemakers Health Services in Rochester, N.H. is expanding its service area to include parts [...] - Industry Note:
Post-Acute Chain Buys New Mexico Agency
A subsidiary of holding company Skilled Healthcare Group Inc. plans to buy HHA Altura Homecare [...] - HIPAA:
Your Employees' Facebook Posts Can Come Back To Haunt Them -- And You
Don't risk patients' privacy just to blow off steam. The last thing your home care [...]
