The latest on Regulatory Compliance Training and Services

COVID-19 Billing Guide

Mar 22, 2021 | Billing

There are 11 new CPT codes for COVID-19 vaccines. Each vaccine has a specific vaccine administration code. The appropriate administration code is chosen based on the type of vaccine and which dose in the schedule (first or second dose) the patient receives. CPT Code...

Emergency Operations Plans – Your Best Defense

Feb 24, 2021 | Compliance, Risk

An emergency operations plan (EOP) is your best defense against a disaster, lawsuit, and repetitional damage. In 2017, CMS outlined to17 healthcare entities that to participate in CMS, they must have a plan. Though physician practices are not part of the 17, it is...

21st Century Cures Act and CMS Interoperability & Patient Access

Feb 24, 2021 | Audit, Governance

The 21st Century Cures Act ("Cures Act") was approved by Congress in 2016 with the intent to provide electronic access, exchange, and use of health information across all different types of health care entities. On May 1, 2020, the Cures Act's final rule became...

The Public Health Emergency (PHE) Will Fade Away

Feb 24, 2021 | Audit, Risk

On the day that President Biden was sworn into office, the public health emergency (PHE) was set to expire, but the Department of Health & Human Services extended the emergency declaration for another 90 days, to April 20, 2021. This represents the fourth time...

First Proposed HIPAA Privacy Rules Changes in 8 Years

Feb 24, 2021 | Audit, Compliance

In a response to the healthcare community’s desire to lessen the administrative burden on HIPAA covered entities, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a request of information (RFI) in December of 2018. Two years later, after this RFI comment period closed, the OCR...

Welcome to HCN ELEMENTS, our publication of information and insights on the everchanging regulatory compliance landscape.

Feb 24, 2021 | Audit, Compliance, Governance, Risk

ELEMENTS may seem like an unusual name for a newsletter but for us, the word is pretty much of a North Star. We use the “7 Elements of Compliance “to guide everything we do. A little history by way of explanation. In the mid 1990’s the CDC, OSHA and other government...

Lessons Learned from the First Wave of COVID: How to Navigate the Second Wave and Implement Lasting Changes to Benefit your Practice

Feb 2, 2021 | Compliance, Risk

When the COVID-19 pandemic reached our shores, it instantly changed the way we lived and worked. Many businesses were shuttered, and most people have yet to return to their offices since the March 2020 lockdowns. Virtual meetings, remote learning and limited socially...

As the Feds Get Tough on Workplace Safety, HCN Can Help Your Practice Stay Compliant

Jan 28, 2021 | Audit, Compliance, Governance

What to Do If Your Practice is Subjected to a Coding Audit

Apr 5, 2019 | Audit

A coding audit can be immensely stressful. Even though many practices do well, there are cases (some of them rather well known) involving fraudulent behavior which result in large recoupments and overpayment extrapolations. How well you’ll do depends at least in...

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid services has recently proposed dramatic changes to the evaluation and management (E/M) guidelines and payment methodology.

Feb 22, 2019 | Compliance

The proposed rule includes a single payment for new and established patient office visits, elimination of the history and physical examination documentation requirements, and heightened emphasis on the medical decision-making (MDM) and time elements....