Medtrade Spring 2010 – Vegas

The HME & Pharmacy industry has been hit hard the last couple of years with reimbursement cuts, competitive bidding and much more.  The big focus on Medtrade Vegas 2010 is to help the suppliers be proactive and more efficient with their business.  Medical Auditing Solutions will be there to meet with clients and vendors as well to be an active participant in these solutions.

Angela Miller will be speaking Wednesday, May 12,  at 9:15am on “Developing a Risk Protocol for Auditing.”  This program will discuss how to identify the risk model(s) for your business.  Every business will have a different risk model.  The program will review areas for auditing the risk model.   This program will be a tool to help you develop your audit plan.

We look forward to speaking with you.  If you miss the session and would like to schedule a meeting with Ms. Miller, you may contact her by email (angela@medicalauditingsolutions.com) or by mobile (409.673.7103).  No sales calls will be accepted.  This is a time for our clients.

Angela Miller of Medical Auditing Solutions LLC has been in health care compliance, auditing, billing, collections and HIPAA for over 18 years.  Ms. Miller has made it the  focus of the business to help providers run their businesses efficiently, collect money, and maintain compliance with federal and state regulations and coverage criteria.  Ms. Miller is very experienced with Medicare & Payer audits.  Ms. Miller ran a very successful compliance program for over 5 years for the largest private held HME/Pharmacy provider in the US at the time.  Ms. Miller  also works as a contract compliance officer to provide an avenue to compliance training to staff, implementation of policies, as well as handling anything that affects cash flow from the initial intake to back-end collections. You can visit our website at Medical Auditing Solutions LLC.

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TAHCS Lone Star Conference

REGISTER NOW!   http://www.box.net/shared/5mqkgyr94e Early Bird Pricing Extended 1 week, so hurry!

ALL DAY ONLY $99 INCLUDES LUNCH & free  Happy Hour

I will be participating at the ALL DAY Conference.  We tried to make this a half day conference but there is so much information and so many changes that we just could not fit it into 4 hours.  This conference will include session presented by Thompson Coe, myself and representatives from CIGNA and VGM.  This conference will discuss the many woes that you are facing as health care providers from Competitive Bidding, ZPIC & RAC Audits, Compliance Issues, Effects of the new Healthcare Bill, Reimbursement and Legal Aspects to protect your business.  There will be many vendors that focus on helping health care providers run their businesses more efficiently and save money.

The 2010 LoneStar HME Conference will be held at the Dallas Crown Plaza Market Center Hotel. This one-day event will bring together top professionals in various fields, including numerous lawyers from Thompson Coe, who will present on topics including, but not limited to, the following:

• Competitive Bidding; the HITECH Act – Edward L. Vishnevetsky (Thompson Coe)
• Medicare’s Latest Changes – Mark Loney (Cigna Health Service)
• ZPIC/RAC Audits – John G. Browning (Thompson Coe)
• Governmental Affairs Update – Mark Higley (VGM)
• DME Manufacturer/Supplier Lawsuits – Jeff Otto (Thompson Coe)
• Texas Legislative Update in Health Care – Jay Thompson (Thompson Coe)
• Effective Lobbying of HR 3790 – Barry Johnson (TAHCS)
• Choice of Business Entity for DME Suppliers – Bruce Bringardner (Thompson Coe)
• Proactive Chart Documentation – Angela Miller (Medical Auditing Solutions)

You will leave with a great deal of knowledge and only for $99 which includes lunch.  The Free Happy Hour is sponsored by Thompson Coe.  You will have a chance to network and have your questions answered by the best experts in the industry.  Get a double dose of information while enjoying yourself !  Now where can you spend an hour with 3-4 attorneys networking and asking questions for free?

Don’t miss this extraordinary meeting.  Take advantage of our industry experts in a relaxed atmosphere.  Learn how to survive tough times and do not miss the insider information

Early Bird Pricing Extended 1 Week 4/7/10, so hurry!  If you include the following code you can extend the early bird price of $99. 9-52  code- 042610

HME Lone Star Conference

2010 HME Lone Star Conference.
Crowne Plaza – Dallas Market Center
7050 N. Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75247

April 26, 2010
8:30 to 4:00 pm
Free parking
Lunch included with registration

REGISTER NOW AT:   http://www.box.net/shared/5mqkgyr94e
Make plans to attend this informative
HME meeting featuring nationally
recognized speakers. Presented By: TAHCS & Thompson Coe

What’s New with HITECH HIPAA Rules?

Are you wandering what in the heck is HITECH and how this impacts your business?  Let’s do a very simple review of the increased accountability and higher penalties.  All existing HIPAA requirements are unchanged; however, if you have not effectively implemented HIPAA policies, training, compliance auditing, and security within your office it is crucial to get busy.  The penalties are as substantial as with penalties associated with billing non-compliance.

With the new HITECH requirements:

1. The privacy and security requirements and penalties extend to the business associates,
2. Establish a mandatory reporting requirement for any breach by covered entities and business associates of unencrypted data,
3. Creates new privacy requirements for covered entities and the business associates which include accounting requirements for the electronic health records, restrictions on marketing and fundraising activities, and others,
4. Creates new criminal and civil penalties for non-compliance which are substantially more than in the past,
5. Establishes a federal audit protocol to ensure compliance, it is no longer complaint driven audits.

This means you need to cover your back-side through a proactive HIPAA security & privacy audit.  It will be much cheaper to pay a little up front for protection than be hit with the outrageous penalties plus face criminal and/or civil action.  I have included a short check list for the basics:

1. Do you have Privacy Notice of Uses and obtain a Signed Acknowledgement for them?
2. Do you obtain a Authorization to Release information to spouses or any other party prior to sharing information?
3. Does each employee have a unique username and password to the EMR or billing system?
4. If you have a patient portal, how often do you require them to change their username and password?
5. Are patient files stored in a locked file cabinet or locked room at the end of the day?
6. Do you obtain business associate agreements for vendors that work with your company?
7. Do you have annual HIPAA training?
8. Do you have an annual security audit for all systems access and back-end IT fields?
9. Do you have annual privacy compliance audits, which is more patient “chart” related?
10. Are all your programs and network encrypted with the latest or highest encryption possible?

This is a short list of areas for HIPAA Compliance but is not all inclusive.  If you have answered no to any of the above questions, it is very important that you improve those areas to prevent costly penalties.   The penalties associated with unauthorized disclosures or breaches of information can be as severe as penalties associated with false/erroneous billing.  We can help you get in compliance.  You may be doing some of these things but don’t have the policies to back it up.  It is important as with any compliance program to have written policies and procedures, implement the program, have on going training, periodic audits to test policies, and options for reporting potential violations or concerns.  All of these actions will show best efforts and mitigate exposure becoming criminal and/or penalties that may be associated with any breach.

Angela Miller of Medical Auditing Solutions LLC has been in health care compliance, auditing, billing, collections and HIPAA for over 18 years.  Ms. Miller has made it the  focus of the business to help providers run their businesses efficiently, collect money, and maintain compliance with federal and state regulations and coverage criteria.  Ms. Miller is very experienced with Medicare & Payer audits.  Ms. Miller  also works as a contract compliance officer to provide an avenue to compliance training to staff, implementation of policies, as well as handling anything that affects cash flow from the initial intake to back end collections. You can visit our website at Medical Auditing Solutions LLC.

Scope of Services for www.medicalauditingsolutions.com

We thought it would be helpful if in our first blog we explained our SCOPE OF SERVICES for the Medical Auditing Solutions LLC.  We work with all types of health care providers including Durable Medical Equipment, Respiratory Med Pharmacy, Sleep Labs, Home Health Agencies, Small Physician Practices and Hospital Systems.  Our clients revenues vary tremendously from $2M-well over $100M annually.  Our focus is to help you manage your business by giving your problem solving direction although we can perform the hands on work as well.

• Compliance/HIPAA Audits
  • Review patient charts to ensure compliance with billing and regulatory requirements and exit with management to discuss any areas of weakness with a written report to follow
  • All improve collections and efficiency
• Compliance Program Development and Training
  • We can review your existing program and provide updates
• Due Diligence Audits
  • Review patient charts as above and provide general feedback on branch, personnel, location, etc.
  • See Compliance Audits
• Investigations including audits, interviews, etc. in coordination with your attorney, if applicable
• Medical Accounts Receivable Analysis for Improved Collections
  • Review a sample of writes for accuracy and potential recovery
• Medical Accounts Receivable Aging claim filings and staff education
• Regulatory Affairs Filings To Do Business (NPI, licensing, permits, DBA’s, Certificates of Authority, provider/supplier applications)
  • Handle all filings, follow-up and renewals
• Assess Medical staff knowledge and positions
• Assess overall location
• Assist with Health Care Accreditation, HR, and Operations
• Work with the business to improve overall efficiency and profits
• Practice Management and Quality of Care Auditing
  • Other healthcare consulting as needed see website

Monthly Availability via a retainer at competitive rates customized for your needs and the time period needed.