Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

This approach prevents staff from sending an unencrypted e-mail containing PHI. Ensuring compliance with everything from HIPAA to billing can be tough these days, but Travis Allen, a clinical pharmacist for a home health and specialty pharmacy business, finds a few key strategies can help. Educate staff about real-world consequences. Allen notes that the compliance officer at the company where he works sends staff e-mails sharing news about how someone got indicted or convicted for HIPAA violations or overbilling home visits, etc. The real-life examples "put fear into people," says Allen. "One example might be how healthcare providers get in trouble by posting [patientrelated information] on Facebook." Prevent common sources of HIPAA breaches. The company uses an "e-mail program with certain words that red flag in the system," Allen reports. So if a staff person tries to send a patient-related e-mail to a provider who isn't on the e-mail list, the [...]