January 26, 2023 We get it. The hiring market is tough out there right now and when your main goal is providing the best experience for your patients, you will do whatever it takes to build a strong team. But before you go sailing the high seas to find your next hire, you might want to make sure they’re paddling in the same direction. Are you considering outsourcing job roles to agencies that employ individuals in other countries? A company’s location and where its employees are located doesn’t necessarily mean they are or are not HIPAA compliant. As a practice, you are responsible for checking the company’s policies and procedures of any company you hire to ensure that they comply with all relevant regulations. If an organization outsources any function that involves access to PHI, it must have a written contract with the Business Associate. Here are some questions we recommend asking prior to working with an outsourced company: Let’s make sure all eyes are on the same prize – HIPAA compliance. Still not sure if you’re asking the right questions? Give us a buzz and we will walk you through the most important processes and policies to follow.
Brushing & Flossing Are Important to Your Practice, Too
January 19, 2023 You know the drill, no pun intended. The hygienist finishes a cleaning and hands the patient their goody bag full of all the fun things, including a toothbrush and dental floss. While this has become the norm for the practice and the patient, there is a good reason for it. Hygienists are taught to preach good oral hygiene, and it’s no secret that most patients that brush and floss regularly will experience better oral health and require less invasive treatment down the road. But what about those patients who don’t follow the advice or over time fall out of best practice? Yes, we’re looking at you, guy who only flosses the night before their appointment. The patient is typically aware of their intermittent compliance but since they are asymptomatic, they continue hoping for the best and vow to do better after the next cleaning. Then as it usually does, life happens and they cancel their next cleaning. And with the best of intentions, they plan to reschedule but keep forgetting. Disease begins to take hold. If the patient is fortunate, they return to the office before the issue is too serious and it can be resolved with a relatively simple treatment plan. Those less fortunate may require more involved and expensive procedures. So you’re probably wondering by now, how does any of this tie back to Abyde, a healthcare software company? Well, we’ve brought in one of our Abyde Ambassadors to tie it all together. Michael Wilgus shares his experience from the last 20 years in the industry. “Ironically, I have seen a similar scenario in hundreds of practices regarding HIPAA and OSHA compliance. A practice starts out with positive intent and implements what they believe is a strong and complete compliance program. Things get busy, there is turnover, and compliance gets pushed to the back burner. When violations or inspections occur (because they are not an if situation), they are usually due to a knowledge gap or are accidental, and may even be asymptomatic to the practice owner.” With HIPAA, if an event is reported, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) may choose to implement a corrective action plan (think treatment plan) for the practice. That plan can be expensive, time-consuming, and involve an OCR specialist monitoring your progress regularly for an extended period. The U.S. Department of Labor isn’t missing out on the fun either. They are actively ramping up their OSHA program by hiring more investigators and estimate their budget to increase by 14.7%, going from $612 Million in the fiscal year 2022 to $701 million in 2023. The average penalty levied on a dental practice in 2022 for a HIPAA violation was measured in the tens of thousands of dollars; one estimate shows it to be approximately $45,000. Sacrificing the net revenue from months’ worth of crowns is something most practices cannot afford. When it comes to OSHA, the punch-to-the-gut penalties are nothing to chuckle at. And let’s not forget the recent increase in these dollar amounts. Achieving and maintaining compliance when using services from Abyde takes less time than a patient should spend brushing and flossing, and if we can humble brag for a minute – we make it easy and fun! Brushing and flossing are not only good for your patients but are also good for your practice. Ready to get your practice’s compliance hygiene up to par?
Inflation Strikes on Eggs and OSHA Fines
January 13, 2023 To keep up with inflation and the ever-changing cost-of-living adjustments, the U.S. Department of Labor announced changes to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) civil penalty amounts today. As part of a Congressional act passed in 1990, the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, and amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, the Department completes an annual review by January 15th to evaluate and adjust civil money penalty levels against inflation. We can expect the new penalty amounts, shown below, to take effect on January 17, 2023. Currently, penalties for serious and other-than-serious violations are $14,502 per violation. With the recent update, we are seeing over a $1,000 increase to $15,625. Repeated violations aren’t getting a break either with an increase to $156,259 per violation from the previous $145,027. Type of Violation Penalty SeriousOther-Than-SeriousPosting Requirements $15,625 per violation Failure to Abate $15,625 per day beyond the abatement date Willful or Repeated $156,259 per violation Curious about state-specific updates? Per the U.S. Department of Labor, states that operate their own OSHA Plans are required to adopt maximum penalty levels that are at least as effective as Federal OSHA’s. State Plans are not required to impose monetary penalties on state and local government employers. This new rule goes into effect on January 15, 2023. It will apply to any penalties assessed after January 15, 2023. Before you go egging the next OSHA enforcement officer you come in contact with, remember that these annual updates are in place to remind you of the importance of maintaining a safe and healthful work environment.
With the first settlement announcement of 2023, OCR selects…
January 4, 2023 We didn’t even make it through the first week of the new year before we saw the first settlement announcement. Yesterday, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a settlement with a Georgia full-service diagnostic lab. The potential violation marks the 43rd associated with the HIPAA Right of Access Initiative to date. This is now the third Right of Access settlement we have seen in the last month. The initial complaint was first filed back in August of 2021 when a personal representative was unable to obtain a copy of her deceased father’s medical records. While the lab finally complied in February of 2022, it took seven months for the requester to receive the records. The HIPAA right of access provision requires that patients be able to access their health information in a timely manner, typically within 30 days. The lab has agreed to pay $16,500 and implement a corrective action plan to resolve this investigation. The corrective action plan includes two years of OCR monitoring. OCR Director, Melanie Fontes Rainer, shared her thoughts, “Access to medical records, including lab results, empowers patients to better manage their health, communicate with their treatment teams, and adhere to their treatment plans. The HIPAA Privacy Rule gives individuals and personal representatives a right to timely access their medical records from all covered entities, including laboratories.” While we all have the same goal in common – to provide the best experience for our customers and patients – that doesn’t always equate to direct care. Ensuring that their needs and requests are met is essential to the overall experience. From the first time they Google you all the way to a request for records, you are making an impression. And whether it’s the first impression or the last, don’t you want it to be a good one?