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Searching for the MIPS ROI: Is Perfect the Enemy of Good?
As someone who’s spent the better part of a decade consulting on quality programs with healthcare organizations of all sizes and specialties, I find it’s rare to meet a doctor or practice administrator who is genuinely happy about all the changes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has brought to their organizations. However, the frustration level I’ve been hearing from them lately feels different than just a general resistance to change.
Combating Systemic Medicare and Medicaid Fraud
While researching the new 4MedPlus CMS Fraud, Waste and Abuse compliance course, I spent a good deal of time reading through case studies on this informative and disturbing FBI website: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/white-collar-crime/health-care-fraud/health-care-fraud-news.When I started this project, I didn’t even realize this web page existed and now I am a weekly visitor. I am sincerely fascinated at the brazen attempts by so many, to steal from medical providers and patients. In the
MIPS 2020 Final Rule: What you need to know in Easy-to-Read Bullets!
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the Calendar Year (CY) 2020 FINAL Rule for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). The MPFS dictates Medicare rates and policies under Part B, while the Quality Payment Program (QPP) implements two key value-based payment programs: the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Models (APMs). The proposal is very long at over 1700 pages! Since the team at Chirpybird Health IT Consulting are the experts of
Before the Ransomware Damage is Done
How a single ransomware attack destroyed a thriving medical business and how to avoid it happening to you or your clients.I was sitting at a local breakfast spot near my home in Michigan one recent morning with a friend. I was discussing my work (online training for compliance and security in healthcare), when a neighbor leaned in to say she overheard me and wanted to share a story she thought I might be interested in. Apparently, a medical practice that did quite well in the Battle Creek area,
STOP SUPERBUGS AND HAIs WITH STRATEGIC INFECTION PREVENTION
Create a Culture of Healthcare Site Compliance in 5 Simple StepsThe recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) report on Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States (2019 AR Threats Report) includes the latest national death and infection estimates that underscore the growing risk of antibiotic resistance in the US. According to the report, more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections (superbugs) occur in the United States each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result. In
The Many Forms of HIPAA Enforcement
How is HIPAA enforced? That may be a simple enough question, but it also contains more nuance than may initially be expected. Determining how HIPAA is enforced can depend upon how the term enforcement is viewed and interpreted.The first step is to define enforcement. The dictionary definition of enforcement includes the following statements: (i) to give force to, (ii) to urge with energy, (iii) constrain, compel, (iv) to effect or gain by force, or (v) to carry out effectively. Looking at the
Does Your Breach Response Plan Include Notification?
Remain Calm, Remain Honest – and Remain in BusinessAvoiding the inevitable does not make it go away.Healthcare patients choose a provider based on the quality of care. In addition to that, the public will generally assume that their private information is safeguarded and not something that they need to verify or investigate before choosing that specific provider. By alerting them to something they assumed to be a non-issue, it is understandable to be concerned about the loss of business.
A Phishing Epidemic: Constant Stream of Reports
Since at least the beginning of the summer, it seems as though no day can go by without another phishing incident being reported by a healthcare entity. The reports are almost always the same too. After some period of time (usually not the same day), unauthorized activity will be found in the email account of one or more employee. A forensic analysis will be conducted that cannot conclusively determine what, if any, patient information or other data were accessed. Out of an abundance of caution
Unnecessary Stress: HIPAA and Litigation Requests
While many areas of HIPAA compliance result in confusion and misinterpretation, responding to document requests from parties in litigation is one that has been presenting itself frequently. The classic scenario is Party A and Party B are in a lawsuit with each other. Party A’s claim is based upon suffering some sort of injury that resulted in receiving medical treatment. During the course of the lawsuit, Party B sends a request for documents to Party A’s physicians. No surprises have arisen yet
CMS Releases 2020 Proposed Rule for the Quality Payment Program
CMS released its proposed policies for the 2020 performance year of the Quality Payment Program via the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). Key proposals for 2020 performance year of the Quality Payment Program include: Increasing the performance threshold from 30 points to 45 points Revising category weights for Quality (decreases from 45% to 40%) and Cost (increases from 15% to 20%) Increasing the data completeness threshold for the quality data that
