Do You Have HIPAA Security and Privacy Exposure?

With the focus on Meaningful Use Measures, many practices are neglecting procedures and policies needed to comply with HIPAA Security and Privacy.  The recently announced $100,000 settlement with a 5 doctor Phoenix based practice should trigger a closer look at your own compliance situation.

How Reliable are your EHR Patient Notes?

A disturbing number of EHR issues and medical professional liability claims are based on serious problems with exam notes and other clinical documentation recorded in an EHR.  Regardless of the legitimacy of care and treatment, the inappropriate use of EHRs and/or EHR design vulnerabilities are exposing physicians to questions on the quality of care and physician due diligence.  Some key areas to consider follow:

What Should You Do with a Failing EHR?

Unfortunately, you need to protect your practice and your patients against a failing EHR.  Some recent examples demonstrate the vulnerability of any practice to a failing EHR:

An EHR cloud service added customers which resulted in substantial delays for the physicians in the practice.

How are EHR Contracts Getting More Difficult?

EHR contracts contain an increasing array of complicating structures and dense terms that offer fewer and fewer commitments to your practice.  The problematic terms include:

Should ICD10s Affect Your EHR Strategy?

On October 1, 2014, practices will start submitting claims using the ICD10 coding system.  Any practice planning on using EHR systems to facilitate the transition to ICD10 needs to take a close look at the practicality of implementing an EHR in time to support ICD10 coding.

Will ICD10s be an EHR Challenge?

In theory, EHR systems will make ICD10 coding tolerable.  However, ICD10 coding presents a wide range of challenges to EHR vendors and users. 

Does Your EHR Present What Your Recorded?

With paper exam notes, the doctor and staff record information and the note reflects what they recorded.  Unfortunately, EHR based notes may not be as direct.