Healthcare Policy

Lax policies regarding medical records and ordering prescriptions and tests puts physicians-and their practices-at risk of DEA and HIPAA violations.

A trend to watch: Last year, two states made significant changes to laws related to personally identifiable information and protected health information.

Physicians who write a script for themselves, or their friends and family, risk a suspended license-unless they have a record of proper documentation.

Four ways advances in EHR technology can help providers achieve mandated MIPS target performance to not only report but also improve patient care.

The recently passed SUPPORT Act addresses various aspects related to the opioid crisis through a series of more than 120 separate bills. Here are five sections physicians should be aware of.

A look over the Office for Civil Rights’ recent HIPAA actions reveal why privacy and security safeguards are a must for medical practices.

More patients are recording their visits at the doctor’s office, sometimes without permission.

Until recently, arrangements between physicians and commercial laboratories escaped federal anti-kickback rules because the arrangements did not involve government payers. 

Although physicians may not be involved with the cybersecurity of medical devices, they are still obligated to comply with HIPAA and the HITECH Act.

Proper billing and coding under CMS’s final rule is important not only for reimbursement but also to avoid potential lawsuits.

Before you sign on the dotted line, here are some legal issues to keep in mind for letters of intent.

Insurance giant Anthem was recently tagged with a $16 million-dollar HIPAA penalty. What can you do to keep your solo or small practice from getting hit?

Following the Anthem settlement, the Fall 2018 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions doubles down on HIPAA privacy and enforcement efforts.

Doctors are pitched a variety of tax planning schemes at the end of each year by both salespeople and well-meaning friends and colleagues. Here is a final look at some common tax evasion landmines physicians must be aware of.

The suspension of a New York nurse highlights the intersection between HIPAA and trade secrets.

The line between sharing helpful information and “affinity fraud” is very thin when well-meaning friends and colleagues share bad information.

Legal insights from both sides of the aisle about what to do when protected health information (PHI) has been disclosed or when law enforcement requests it in a legal proceeding.

Here are the basics every physician must be familiar with before implementing any tax plan.

The cure for docs who have seen too many government-induced healthcare acronyms? A heaping dose of alphabet soup. 

Terminating a provider’s employment with a physician practice is a sensitive process that needs to be handled with care.

A recent $65M False Claims Act settlement highlights physicians' responsibility to provide the best care as well as correctly document and appropriately code it.

Doctors should never be disincentivized from caring for their sickest patients.

Many doctors will be solicited to engage in some kind of income tax avoidance planning this fall.

Representatives can play an important role in keeping physicians updated on proper use of manufacturers’ products. But they can also integrate themselves into practices in ways that violate the law.

Decreasing documentation requirements leads to decreasing reimbursement for the same amount of clinical work.

Providers should evaluate Anti-Kickback and HIPAA compliance simultaneously.

Management service organization (MSO) models can be risky for physicians who may not consider the legality and associated financial and legal risks before agreeing to the arrangement.

Coding expert Bill Dacey reacts to CMS’s 2019 proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule that would collapse office Evaluation and Management code levels-and payment rates.

Here are five reasons why CMS’s proposed Physician Fee Schedule for Evaluation and Management guidelines might improve patient care.

Physicians need to consider what they might need to do in order to repurchase their medical practice-then get those provisions in place before agreeing to the sale.