Examining proposed modifications to HIPAA Privacy Rule

January 11, 2021

Briefings on HIPAA

As many anticipated, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has pushed out a flurry of proposed rules in the months leading up to the Trump administration’s departure. Among them is a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would make significant changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

The NPRM, released by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on December 10, 2020, includes provisions that build on the themes set forth in the Interoperability and Patient Access final rule, which was published in March. The proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule are wide-ranging, but the overall intent is clear.

Providing Patients With Records Access: Overcoming Challenges

December 31, 2020

Healthcare Info Security 

As federal regulators intensify their focus on compliance with requirements to provide patients with access to their health information, healthcare organizations need to sort through a variety of emerging challenges, says health information management and privacy expert Rita Bowen.

Changes to HIPAA, New Data Interoperability Rules, and the Impact of COVID-19 on ROI

October 15, 2020

Healthcare IT Today

by John Lynn

As mentioned previously, we’re taking part on the Virtual AHIMA conference this week.  Exploring how things work in the virtual world, we tried something new today and did a text based chat interview with Rita Bowen, VP of Privacy, Compliance and HIM Policy from MRO.

How to Improve Patient Experience in the ROI Process

October 12, 2020 

Journal of AHIMA

Patient satisfaction is one of the most critical aspects of the release of information (ROI) process. Patients deserve respectful and trustworthy customer service to ensure the best possible patient experience. Especially during this time of unprecedented crisis and uncertainty, empathy at every level of patient interaction is critical.

Breaking Down the Walls: Strategies to Reduce Compliance Risk in the Revenue Cycle

October 1, 2020

Compliance Cosmos

Throughout the history of healthcare in the United States, departments have worked within their own silos. Today, with increased managed care recipients, the shift to value-based reimbursement, and unprecedented demands due to COVID-19, a team-based approach is more important than ever. Collaboration between compliance officers and revenue cycle leaders is critical to reduce risk, bridge communication gaps, and promote teamwork while also supporting billing integrity and revenue recovery for the organization. With increased requests for audits and access to electronic health records (EHRs), departments must find a way to work together to create efficiencies, promote compliance, and retain revenue.

Healthcare Organizations Should Expect a Surge in Managed Care Audits and Reviews in the COVID-19 Aftermath

September 28, 2020

HFMA

Before COVID-19, healthcare organizations were experiencing a steady influx of audit activity from health insurance companies. Audits conducted both before and after payment coupled with HEDIS/risk adjustment reviews represented about 30% of the medical records requested in the first quarter of 2020.

Immediately following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many providers, including hospitals and physicians, experienced a break in payer reviews and audits.