Optometry

Many people have been very confused about the requirement in meaningful use for doing a security risk analysis and other HIPAA-related compliance issues and have looked for resources to help them. In a release well-timed with my topics in this blog, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology recently announced the release of its Guide to Privacy and Security of Health Information. This guide, released by the ONC's Office of the Chief Privacy Officer, is desig...

You might have seen blog postings or articles I've written in the last year or so about HIPAA compliance and the fact that there really are "HIPAA police." I've warned practices for some time to take this subject very seriously, especially the EHR incentive requirement to perform a security risk analysis. Well, I have evidence for you that noncompliance can cost you a lot of money. HHS just announced that they've settled a case with Phoenix Cardiac Surgery for lack of HIPAA safeguards. The actio...

A proposed administrative simplification rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would move the ICD-10 compliance date to Oct. 1, 2014. ICD-10 codes must be used on all HIPAA transactions, including outpatient claims with dates of service and inpatient claims with dates of discharge on and after Oct. 1, 2014. Otherwise, your claims and other transactions may be rejected, and you will need to resubmit them with the ICD-10 codes. This could result in delays and may i...

CMS just announced that the deadline for eligible professionals (EPs) to submit eligibility appeals under the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program’s 2011 payment year has been extended. The new deadline is April 30, 2012. The original deadline was March 31, so this gives you an extra month to file an appeal. An eligibility appeal allows you to show that all the requirements for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program were met and that you should have received a...

On March 15, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of E-Health Standards and Services said it will not initiate enforcement action against any noncompliant entities for an additional 3 months, through June 30, 2012, for updated HIPAA transaction standards (5010).

On Feb. 23, both the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator released their Notices of Proposed Rulemaking for Stage 2 of the EHR Incentive Program.

On Jan. 17, the American Medical Association sent a letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner protesting the Oct. 13, 2013, implementation deadline for ICD-10. Their arguments are numerous and persuading. Rather than reiterate them here, you can read the letter yourself here: http://www.ama-assn.org/resources/doc/washington/icd-10-john-boehner-letter-17jan2012.pdf.

CMS has recently updated information on filing administrative appeals for eligible professionals (EPs) that have been deemed ineligible to participate in the EHR incentive program or denied meaningful user status. CMS has also extended the filing deadline for EPs who have failed to obtain payments to Jan. 30, 2012. If you feel that the amount you were paid is not correct, you can challenge it. To download information about this appeals process, please visit the CMS website.