Month: November 2013

With implementation of the HIPAA Omnibus Rule, the government is already gearing up for the 2014 launch of an aggressive HIPAA auditing campaign. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which is tasked with managing the audit program, has promised an aggressive roll-out that will target both medical providers and […]

With implementation of the HIPAA Omnibus Rule, the government is already gearing up for the 2014 launch of an aggressive HIPAA auditing campaign. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which is tasked with managing the audit program, has promised an aggressive roll-out that will target both medical providers and […]

Top-performing medical groups excel in four key areas, according to reports by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). Based on survey data, annual MGMA reports on the Performance and Practices of Successful Medical Groups have plumbed medical office best practices for the key performance standards that have the greatest impact on medical practice success. The […]

A recent article in Outpatient Surgery Magazine on increasing room turnover speed offered an appropriate lesson for clinics and medical and dental practices. In emergency room and operating room settings, the ability to keep room turnover moving at a fast pace allows more patients to be seen and makes the most efficient use of physician […]

Google has launched a new service dubbed Helpouts that has the potential to become a useful tool for doctors, dental practices, clinics, hospital departments and other healthcare providers. In what might be called an expert version of Hangouts, Google’s popular video chat phenomenon; Helpouts offers secure, pay-per-use video consultations with vetted experts in fields ranging […]

A shortage of primary care physicians, growing competition from retail clinics and  increased economic pressures have many family practices exploring the potential of the medical home model to make more efficient use of medical practice resources. Adding to their burden is increased government regulation, particularly new HIPAA compliance regulations and documentation and reporting requirements associated […]

Smartphone technology has revolutionized the way physicians, dentists, hospitals and clinics communicate with each other, their office staffs and their patients. Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging has made medical communication more efficient and more personal, adding value to patient care and strengthening the link between patients and their healthcare providers. But text messaging also […]

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 contains several mandates, but for medical answering service companies and clients, the one that resonates most specifies that provides for the correct and confidential handling of what the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) terms individually identifiable health information. As HHS notes, identifiable information can […]