Practice Management Alert

Try this new option for patient health request and consent.

Don't get snagged by HIPAA when fulfilling patient requests for their private health information (PHI). Check out this new form template for patients to fill out and sign, and cover all of your bases while still helping patients.

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) designed and is providing this new form so providers can "streamline the process when patients request their PHI under HIPAA and comply with the timeframe and fees set out by the Office for Civil Rights' (OCR) guidance of 2016," says AHIMA's "Advocacy and Policy Efforts" section on its website.

The AHIMA form is free and you can adjust it easily for your specific practice's needs. You can download this patient request form from the AHIMA website, and brush up on the nuts and bolts of certain HIPAA rules in the process.

For a link to the AHIMA information and patient request form, visit www.ahima.org/about/advocacy/efforts.

Submit Your Medicare Improvement Ideas Before Thanksgiving

Don't forget: Only a few weeks left to submit public comment as to how to improve Medicare. The CMS website notes: "Medicare's main trust fund is projected to run out in just eleven years, and Medicaid is the second largest budget item for states on average (behind K-12 education) and is growing rapidly. Improving quality and reducing costs are imperative."

The CMS's informal request for information lists these areas for your consideration:

"While existing partnerships with healthcare providers, clinicians, states, payers and stakeholders have generated important value and lessons, CMS is setting a new direction for the Innovation Center. We will carefully evaluate how models developed consistent with the new directions can complement what we are learning from the existing initiatives. In particular, the Innovation Center is interested in testing models in the following eight focus areas:

1. Increased participation in Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs);
2. Consumer-Directed Care & Market-Based Innovation Models;
3. Physician Specialty Models;
4. Prescription Drug Models;
5. Medicare Advantage (MA) Innovation Models;
6. State-Based and Local Innovation, including Medicaid-focused Models;
7. Mental and Behavioral Health Models; and
8. Program Integrity.

However, the Innovation Center may also test models in other areas."

You can submit your comments online here, https://survey.max.gov/429625, or submit them via email to CMMI_NewDirection@cms.hhs.gov, but you only have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Nov. 20, 2017.

Take Advantage of New HHS Tools for PHI Security

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published new resources and tools to help healthcare providers and team members keep current with IT security and challenges. Though utilizing IT in the healthcare field goes a long way in reducing medical errors and healthcare costs while also helping to improve access to care, increase administrative efficiency, there are risks inherent to depending on IT, says the HHS website on its Health Information Technology Privacy page.

The resources are available through the HHS Office of Civil Rights and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).

Find guidance on how to safely exchange health information electronically while ensuring that all information is maintained and transmitted securely.

One highlight in the toolkit, which may be of special interest to smaller practices, is the seven-step Guide to Privacy and Security of Electronic Health Information, which is an "ONC tool to help small healthcare practices in particular succeed in their privacy and security responsibilities," the HHS website says.

There's also a list of certified health IT products, in case your practice is looking to utilize technology but are unsure what direction is safest. The HHS website describes the tool as "ONC's authoritative, comprehensive listing of complete Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and EHR modules that have been tested and certified under the ONC Health IT (HIT) Certification Program."

If you feel like your health IT security is already up to snuff, consider still giving a glance to the Security Risk Assessment (SRA) Tool. It's a downloadable tool designed for smaller practices to better navigate exactly how to analyze their security risks.