Next to hands-on patient care, no part of healthcare carries as much importance as protecting a patient's personal information from a breach of privacy, charging honestly for the care provided, and auditing the compliance of a practice or facility. All medical organizations face healthcare compliance worries. Healthcare compliance is a general term describing the observance of conventions, guidelines, and state and federal laws. Practices, clinics, and facilities normally have a staff members dedicated to fulfilling regulations that protect patients and staff, assure privacy of personal information, and that medical information is presented using standardized means.
Since, the Healthcare Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was implemented, a new role of Compliance Officer has evolved. HIPAA requires providers and facilities to maintain compliance plans requiring monitoring and training. Often, there is a designated compliance officer who must develop, track and report on these plans, which may include regulations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), the Office of Inspector General (OIG), and others. Compliance Officers assures compliance with all facets of HIPAA rules, developing and maintaining compliance plans which includes training the staffs and providers on correcting any irregularities.
Compliance means each patient can rest assured their information is not only protected but the right information is accessible to the right audience. Patients have the right to determine how and when their health information is shared. Each individual looks for the privacy of their health information. PHI (Protected Health Information) is sensitive and must be accessed with the consent of the patient. While the obvious focus is making sure that providers need access to the right information. Physicians have responsibilities when it comes to protecting electronic medical information and must document all use of patient information, share privacy and security policies with their patients, and report any loss of information. Patients should contact their physician/administrative staff immediately if they suspect misuse of their health information. The right information needs to go to payors and regulators.
Compliance adds levels of complexity to healthcare. However it ensures the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all e-PHI created, received, maintained or transmitted. It Identifies and protects against reasonably anticipated threats to the security or integrity of the information. Protection against reasonably anticipated, impermissible uses or disclosures; and ensuring compliance by their workforce. Providers and facilities were forced to appoint/hire Compliance Officers to assure procedures are updated, trainings are performed, computers and other electronic means are secured. On the other-hand they conduct audits to ensure fool-proofing. The new challenges to providers and facilities is to standardize the policies & procedures in patient handling that results to quality management. The data prepared will in-turn help in tracking and improving transparency of health care.
Radical has unparalleled domain expertise in the field of Medical Billing, Medical Coding and Accounts Receivables Management; and has followed HIPAA compliance right from its inception. Radical enters into a trust partner agreement with the client to maintain security and ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the information transmitted. We ensure compliance of The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). We respect all patient information provided by the healthcare provider and all reports generated by Radical for the healthcare provider are kept strictly confidential. The electronic processing and transfer of data is encrypted and password protected to ensure privacy and confidentiality. Security is also ensured through transmission of data through LAN and installation of firewalls to detect attempts at unauthorized access to its servers.