Compliance

Reporting Requirements

What COVID-19 Information Are You Required to Report to the State?

Patient and Practice Safety

TMB No Longer Requiring Practices to Follow COVID-19 Safe-Practice Standards

Updated Nursing Home Guidance Allows for Most Indoor Visits

Governor Removes Jail Time as Penalty for Violating COVID-19 Order

HIPAA

HIPAA Privacy and Novel Coronavirus (HHSC)

OSHA

Key OSHA Standards for COVID-19 (US Dept of Labor) 

Minimize the risk your medical practice faces by establishing or maintaining an effective compliance program for HIPAA and coding and documentation practices.

Start now and gain the knowledge needed to achieve compliance. View all of the compliance courses available on the TMA Education Center.

Effective April 5, all practices must comply with the information-blocking regulations that are part of the federal 21st Century Cures Act, which is designed to facilitate widespread access and sharing of health information among patients and physicians.

In response to questions raised by physicians around the state, the Texas Medical Association Office of General Counsel and the TMA COVID-19 Task Force have drafted a new white paper and a letter addressing physicians’ legal and ethical responsibilities to patients. 

The “Legal Pitfalls of Patient Termination” white paper is a detailed document that physicians may find useful in numerous situations.

The Texas Medical Board’s (TMB) emergency rule establishing minimum safe-practice standards related to COVID-19, and its frequently asked questions (FAQ) document on the rule, continue to generate a lot of questions from physicians.

Specifically, the provision requiring physicians, their delegates, and patients to wear masks when a physician or delegate is less than 6 feet from the patient has resulted in a lot of calls to the Texas Medical Association Knowledge Center.

In a medical practice, physicians, administrators, managers, and other staff may all be responsible for maintaining compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. The Texas Medical Association offers several resources, tools, and even discounts on compliance services to help keep your practice compliant.

Some of your employees may have become newly eligible for overtime pay on Jan. 1.

The U.S. Department of Labor has increased the minimum salary for exempt employees to $684 per week – $35,568 annually – from the previous level of $455 per week ($23,660 annually). Any employee earning less than $684 per week is automatically nonexempt and thus eligible for overtime pay. 

The federal requirements have not changed, but starting Jan. 1, breach notification requirements became even more stringent for Texas physicians or medical entities. The Texas Legislature dropped the threshold for breach reporting from 500 patients to 250. House Bill 4390 also requires medical entities to report breaches to the Texas attorney general’s office within 60 days of the breach.

Federal anti-kickback law has changed, and it’s gotten broader.

As a result, you may need to re-examine your practice’s compensation arrangements. That includes payments for laboratory referrals.