Practice Help

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a draft rule to implement the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) on Jan. 1, 2017. Although the final rule will not be published until or around Nov. 1, 2016, here are some steps the Texas Medical Association recommends you take now to prepare your practice. 

Ransomware has reached Texas, and its emergence highlights the importance of up-to-date security. Health care is particularly vulnerable to the ransomware threat. KPMG's 2015 Health Care and Cyber Security Survey, which polled 223 U.S.-based health care executives, found four-fifths of respondents said cyber attacks had compromised their information technology. TMA is raising awareness and educating physicians on ways to manage security and technology risks.

Google yourself. You might be surprised to see what comes up. Open a web browser, and type your name in the search box. Do you like what you see? Does it make your blood boil? Is there anything there? If your name is not that unique, do the results actually refer to you?

New rules from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) lay out a compliance framework for physicians and health care providers regarding all types of discrimination, including discrimination against individuals with LEP. The framework, explained in detail in the new white paper from the TMA Office of General Counsel about accommodating people with limited English proficiency, includes factors to help you determine the reasonable steps you must take to provide these individuals meaningful access.

If you lost a laptop or smartphone, got a computer virus, received a patient HIPAA complaint, or had a business associate breach, would you be prepared? Conducting a security risk assessment is a key requirement of the HIPAA Security Rule and a core requirement for physicians participating in the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs.