6/2014 Update on APRN Supervision Rules for Hospitals with Physician Practices

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Breazeale Sachse

Hospitals with physician practices should be mindful of the requirements for supervision of mid-level practitioners in light of the dynamic regulatory environment relating to physician supervision of Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs). There are potential changes to APRN supervision requirements coming from the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners (LSBME) for physicians who work with these mid-level practitioners. The following chart, and the article below provide a summary of the current state of the supervision regulations relating to both APRNs and Physician Assistants (PAs), followed by a discussion of the proposed changes. Continue reading →

Non-Profit Health Care System Agrees to $800,000 HIPAA Settlement in Medical Records Dumping Case

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Breazeale Sachse

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced today that Parkview Health System, Inc. has agreed to pay $800,000 and adopt a corrective action plan to settle potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule based on the handling and disposal of a physician’s medical records. Parkview is a nonprofit health care system that provides community-based health care services to individuals in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio. Continue reading →

ICD-10 Delay Update

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Breazeale Sachse

The house bill (HR 4302) delaying implementation of ICD-10 moved quickly through the Senate on Monday and was signed by President Obama on Tuesday. The ICD-10 delay, which was included in a much broader bill to delay Medicare payment cuts to doctors, prohibits the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from enforcing any mandate to switch from ICD-9 to ICD-10 until at least October 1, 2015. Since the language focuses on preventing CMS from enforcing a mandate, several questions remain including whether October 1, 2015 is the new deadline for implementation.

Written by: Traci Thompson

House Passes ICD-10 Delay Bill

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Breazeale Sachse

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on March 27 that would delay the ICD-10 implementation deadline by one year to October 1, 2015. A similar bill in the Senate is expected to be voted on soon. The bill, H.R. 4302, Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, also adjusts Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula to prevent the 24 percent cut to physician reimbursement rates scheduled to begin April 1. Medicare payment cuts to physicians would be delayed until April 1, 2015.

Opposition to the bill focuses on the need for a permanent replacement of the Medicare physician payment system instead of the proposed one year “patch” currently being considered. Opponents of the ICD-10 implementation provision claim that the delay could cost the industry billions of dollars. Others support the measure noting that providers are not prepared for the October 1, 2014 implementation.

Written by: Traci Thompson

Reporting Crimes Against Patients

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Breazeale Sachse

The HIPAA privacy rules have a number of disclosure exceptions, but those exceptions are only effective when state law also allows the disclosure. When there is no state-law exception, it is irrelevant that HIPAA would allow the disclosure. One such common situation involves crimes against patients. Continue reading →