Practice E-Tips on Legal Topics

Advertising/Marketing | Billing & Coding | Contracts | Court | Delegation of Duties | Health Care Payment Plans | HIPAA | Informed Consent | Medicaid & Medicare | Medical Records | OSHA | Payment | Practice Management | Privacy | Resources

Advertising / Marketing

• Testimonials in Advertising    

Billing & Coding

• Billing for Noncovered Service
• Low-Level Code May Have High Misuse  NEW
• New Laws Require Billing Disclosures by Physicians  
• Physicians Can Get Paid During Credentialing Process
• Put These Plans in Writing   
• Surgical Debridement to Be Subject to Medicare Scrutiny  

 Contracts

• Is There a Cooling-Off Period for Physician Contracts?
• Your Payer Contracts: Money Makers or Money Drains?

Court

• How to Initiate a Case in Small Claims Court   
• How to prepare and conduct a case in small claims court     

Health Care Payment Plans

• Billing for Noncovered Service  
• Flex Your RVUs    
• Monitoring Health Care Payment Plans  
• Physicians Can Get Paid During Credentialing Process  
• Put These Plans in Writing   

HIPAA

• 20 Everyday HIPAA Tips  
• Breach Notification Rules Get a Makeover   
• Consent vs. Authorization Under HIPAA  
• Deadline for Business Associate Agreements: Sept. 22
• Federal HIPAA Guide Gives Practical Advice on Security Management
• Handling Patient Charts Under HIPAA  
• HIPAA and Posting of Notice of Privacy Practices
• HIPAA: Are You Prepared for a Computer Virus Incident?   
• HIPAA: Are You Prepared for a Patient Complaint?   
• HIV in the Medical Record  
• Love Your Smartphone? Be Secure
• New Business Associate Agreement Rules Among HIPAA Changes     
• New HIPAA Forms You Must Use  
• Put These Plans in Writing   
• Update Your Policies Under New Texas Privacy Law   
• What’s Up on Your Walls?  
• Your Photocopier May Be a Security Risk

Informed Consent

• Informed Consent: A Process of Communication   

Medicaid & Medicare

• Antikickback Versus Stark: A Comparison   
• Billing for Noncovered Service  
• CMS Refines the Physician Self-Referral Rule  
• Don't Offer Gifts or Other Inducements to Medicare or Medicaid Patients
• How to Respond to a Medicare Audit  
• Medicare coordination of benefits contractor targets enhanced efficiency, reduced abuse  
• Surgical Debridement to Be Subject to Medicare Scrutiny  

Medical Records

• Copy Fees for Mental Health Records  
• Destroy Medical Record Securely
• Electronic Medical Record Documentation Pointers  
• Fees for Copying Medical Records   
• HIV in the Medical Record
• How Long Do I Have to Keep Patient Medical Records?
• Medical Records Release and Other Physician’s Records
• Photos and Videos in the Medical Record  
• Practice Retention of Medical Records  
• Put These Plans in Writing   
• Surgical Debridement to Be Subject to Medicare Scrutiny
• Texas Medical Records Law Provisions Eased  
• These 10 Tips Will Help You Avoid EMR Liability Exposure
• TMB: More Must-Haves for Medical Records
• Use Medication Reconciliation to Prevent Errors        
• What Not to Include in a Medical Record  
• What Should We Include When Filling a Patient’s Records Request?    
• Withholding Patient Records for Payment  

OSHA

• New OSHA Deadline: Training About Hazardous Materials  
• OSHA: Hepatitis B Vaccination Requirement  
• Put These Plans in Writing   
• What’s Up on Your Walls?   

Payment

• Physicians Can Get Paid During Credentialing Process  
• Routine Waiver of Patient Copay Is Illegal  
• TMA Hassle Factor Log Users Must Sign a Business Associate Agreement
• Waiving Copayments

Practice Management

• Antikickback Versus Stark: A Comparison
• Communicating With Patients Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing  
• Deadline for Business Associate Agreements: Sept. 22   
• Destroy Medical Records Securely
• Do Appointments Establish a Patient-Physician Relationship?    
• Does the Family and Medical Leave Act apply to your practice
• Don’t Hold Patient Credit Balances Too Long  
• Don't Offer Gifts or Other Inducements to Medicare or Medicaid Patients
• Follow-Up Failures Are Risky  NEW
• Guidelines for Notifying Employees of the Closing or Selling a Practice  
• How Long Do I Have to Keep Patient Medical Records?
• How to Win an Unemployment Insurance Hearing
• Identify Your Own Fraud and Abuse Red Flags
• Job Screening Checklist  
• Medication Errors: A Preventable Risk
• New Business Associate Agreement Rules Among HIPAA Changes    
• New HIPAA Forms You Must Use
• New Laws Require Billing Disclosures by Physicians  
• No Light Shining on Drug Samples
• Notice to Patients When You Leave a Practice Has Gray Areas  
• Notifying Your Patients When You Leave a Practice  
• Patient Notification During Practice Transition  
• Preventing Embezzlement  
• Protect Your Practice: New Technology Brings New Liability Exposures  
• Put These Plans in Writing   
• Surgical Debridement to Be Subject to Medicare Scrutiny   
• Termination of the physician/patient relationship  
• Test your office for patient confidentiality  
• Tips for Recognizing Questionable Consultants  
• Update Your Policies Under New Texas Privacy Law  
• Use Medication Reconciliation to Prevent Errors   
• What’s Up on Your Walls?  
• Your Photocopier May Be a Security Risk

Privacy

• 20 Everyday HIPAA Tips   
• Must CLIA Labs Give Patients Test Results? ... and Other FAQs on Privacy Rules   
• Privacy Notice and the Phone Patient
• Put These Plans in Writing  
• What Not to Include in a Medical Record  
• When Is Protected Health Information Not Protected?   
• Your Photocopier May Be a Security Risk

Resources

• Antikickback Versus Stark: A Comparison
• Filing a Complaint With the Texas Department of Insurance  
• Job Screening Checklist  
• Safe Needle Devices  
• Tips for Recognizing Questionable Consultants  
• TMA Hassle Factor Log Users Must Sign a Business Associate Agreement   
• You Asked for It: Vaccine Exemption Info