Tag Archives: home health agencies

What We’re Reading – Six reasons physicians need to be on social media

Marketing dollars are scarce in any economy. These days, dollars need to go farther and inexpensive marketing ideas can be found by using technology. Although a lot of referrals occur by word of mouth, prospective patients still use the internet … Read Full Post

Tagged home health agencies, physician practices, physicians on social media, practice management, social media in healthcare marketing, social media marketing |

Emergency Preparedness Reminders for Home Health Agencies

Home health agencies have their hands full when it comes to emergency preparedness, especially with regard to hurricane survival. The state requires that agencies prepare and maintain a written Emergency Management Plan (EMP) to assure an efficient response during a … Read Full Post

Tagged comprehensive emergency management plan, emergency preparedness, florida, home health agencies, hurricane preparedness, hurricane season, miracle on the hudson flight, office evacuation plan, office of emergency management |

Antidiscrimination in the workplace: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the cornerstone of federal antidiscrimination legislation. It was the nation’s first comprehensive federal law making it illegal to discriminate in employing anyone based on said person’s race, color , religion, gender or ethnicity. … Read Full Post

Tagged antidiscrimination in the workplace, civil rights act of 1964, discriminate, EEOC, equal employment opportunity commission, home health agencies, illegal to discriminate, physician offices, practice management |

Tracking the Details

AHCA, CMS and accrediting organizations require the continuous tracking of certain information, such as educational hours, license expiration dates and insurance coverage, just to name a few. Home health agencies and nurse registries vary in their sophistication and mechanisms to … Read Full Post

Tagged accrediting organizations, AHCA, avoided deficiencies, center for medicare and medicaid services, home health agencies, nurse registries, plan of care, tracking llicense expiration dates, tracking of educational hours |

The Basics of HIPAA (Part 4)

In this series on The Basics of HIPAA, we review the definition and meaning of the term Protected Health Information, or PHI. At the end of our conversation, you will see that the penalties for violating HIPAA are pretty severe. … Read Full Post

Tagged covered entities, disclosing phi, health insurance portability and accountability act, hipaa, home health agencies, penalties for non-compliance with hipaa, phi, practice management, protected health information |

The Basics of HIPAA (Part 3)

In this third part of our five-part series on HIPAA, we will review the agencies overseeing HIPAA and also who is required to comply with this law. Who governs HIPAA? The Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) has delegated … Read Full Post

Tagged business associates, cms, covered entities, department of health & human services, health insurance portability and accountability act, hipaa, home health agencies, practice management, protected health information |

What We’re Reading – The Forces of Nature and Lost Medical Records

After news of the 125 tornadoes that touched down in the Midwest this weekend, I recalled an article published about Joplin, MO, entitled “Lost medical records complicate Joplin hospital’s tornado recovery.” This article details how tornadoes that ripped through Joplin … Read Full Post

Tagged department of health & human services, electronic medical records, emr, healthcare providers, home health agencies, natural disasters, paper records, practice management |

The Basics of HIPAA (Part 2)

Monday, we began a discussion about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and reviewed two of its early provisions: Portability and Medicare Program Integrity. Today, let’s review the most important aspect of HIPAA for the majority of providers. … Read Full Post

Tagged administrative simplification, health insurance portability and accountability act, health records, hipaa, home health agencies, insurance payor, medical practice, practice management, providers, recredentialed |

The Basics of HIPAA (Part 1)

HIPAA is one of the most encompassing legislative changes to happen in the US in the past 20 years. It’s also one that generates a lot of misinformation, myth and sometimes even apathy. A lot of providers believe that securing … Read Full Post

Tagged center for medicare and medicaid services, cms, fraud & abuse, health insurance portability and accountability act, hipaa, home health agencies, medicare integrity program, portability, practice management, the patient protection and affordable care act |

Overtime Pay Exemption for Companionship Services Comment Period Ends March 12

Comment Period extended until March 21, 2012. In 1975, the U. S. Department of Labor (DOL) exempted companions and live-in workers from the requirement for overtime pay. On December 27, 2011, the DOL published a ‘Notice of Proposed Rulemaking’ to … Read Full Post

Tagged companionship regulations, home health agencies, live-in worker regulations, long-term care business, notice of proposed rulemaking, overtime pay exemption, us department of labor |