It’s a HIPAA violation that occurs every day but seldom makes the headlines. It has the potential to destroy an organization’s reputation, but it comes from within.

Medical record snooping by employees may seem like a victimless offense, but the costs and consequences of EHR snooping are real.

Read the rest of the article from the Compliancy Group on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/costs-consequences-ehr-snooping-compliancygroup

On Friday, November 26, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul issued an executive order suspending non-essential/elective surgery in hospitals where the associated hospital bed capacity is less than 10%. The Executive Order goes into effect on Friday, December 3rd and will be re-evaluated based on the latest COVID-19 data on January 15, 2022. View the Executive Order.

On April 5, 2021, a requirement of the 21st Century Cures Act went into effect: Patients must be able to access information in their EHRs “without delay.” (This requirement does not apply to paper records.) The Cures Act prohibition against information blocking, often referred to as an “open notes” provision, provides patients with transparency in the outcomes of their healthcare via convenient access to information in their EHR, which can positively or negatively impact the patient-doctor relationship.

The good news: Many patients feel better about their provider after reading a note. Positive effects on the patient-provider relationship may be most significant among vulnerable patients, such as those with fewer years of formal education. 

The bad news: Concerns about open notes mainly revolve around the potential for conflicts with patients and potential time conflicts. 

Concerns include:

• Timing: The originally planned implementation date for the open notes provisions in the Cures Act was November 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was pushed back to April 2021. 

• Uncertainty about the documentation process:Most patients will not understand clinical shorthand, and providers may need added time for explanation. 

• Technology: Some EHR vendors are still racing to provide services that allow practices to remain in compliance with the Cures Act. 

The ugly news: More frequent requests for records changes from patients could increase already weighty administrative burdens on providers. Worse, some of these requests will be for changes providers cannot support, and making time for careful conversations with patients and providing written responses for requests that are rejected will be a challenge. 

When composing notes, certain simple strategies will raise the odds that notes will be well understood and well received. Beyond being clear and succinct, strategies for success include composing at least a portion of the note as instructions directly addressed to the patient and providing a list of commonly used medical terms and abbreviations. 

For an in-depth review of strategies for success when composing notes, see 12 Strategies for Success With Open Notes in Healthcare: The Cures Act

Unless an exception applies, clinical notes must not be blocked, but the Cures Act allows for a fairly long list of specific, well-delineated exceptions. 

For information regarding exceptions to open notes, please see What Open Notes Exceptions Does the Cures Act Allow?

Chad Anguilm, MBA, is Vice President, In-Practice Technology Services, Medical Advantage, part of TDC Group. Richard F. Cahill, JD, is Vice President and Associate General Counsel, The Doctors Company, part of TDC Group. Kathleen Stillwell, MPA/HSA, RN, is Senior Patient Safety Risk Manager, The Doctors Company, part of TDC Group.

reposted from: MSSNY eNews July 7, 2021 edition

The latest emergency regulation from DFS, released on Wednesday, July 7th, continues coverage for Telehealth services delivered via audio-only until at least October 1st. However, it is unclear if DFS will renew come October, making clarifying legislation potentially necessary.

Please note that last year a statute was enacted that requires Medicaid to cover audio-only Telehealth. The New York State Department of Health (DOH) recently issued a guidance document for how Medicaid will continue to cover Telehealth services, including audio-only services.

To view the latest extending regulation, click here.

On June 10, 2021, OSHA issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (the “Standard”) specific to COVID-19, including health screening mandates and COVID-specific protocols, and paid leave requirements for certain healthcare providers. The Standard generally enforces CDC protocols that have been recommended during the pandemic. On the same day, OSHA also issued “Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace” for all other employers (the “Guidance”). The Guidance focuses on protections for unvaccinated or otherwise “atrisk” workers, who are described as those that “cannot be protected through vaccination, cannot get vaccinated, or cannot use face coverings.” The Guidance notes that, unless otherwise required, most employers no longer need to take steps to protect fully vaccinated workers who are not otherwise at-risk from exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace, or well-defined portions of the workplace, where all employees are fully vaccinated. 

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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York will end the state disaster emergency declared on March 7, 2020 to fight COVID-19. Given New York's dramatic progress against COVID-19, with the vaccination rates, and declining hospitalization and positivity statewide the state of emergency will expire after Thursday, June 24.

Federal CDC guidance will remain in effect, which includes masks for unvaccinated individuals, as well as all riders on public transit and in certain settings, such as health care, nursing homes, correctional facilities, and homeless shelters.

We will keep you abreast of any guidance coming out of the New York State Department of Health.

To see the governor’s complete release visit: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-new-york-ending-covid-19-state-disaster-emergency-june-24

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Supporters of the New York Health Act staged a march and die-in on the streets of Albany today, blocking traffic outside the State Capitol.

It was their final attempt to pressure Legislators to pass the Single Payer bill during this Legislative Session.

The Realities of Single Payer Coalition (in which NYSSPS is a member) released a statement in response to the rally.  In its current format, the NYSSPS is still opposed to the bill. 

Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried during an interview on Friday admitted that there are a number of Legislators who are signed on to the bill but are expressing serious concerns behind the scenes.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a notice on June 3, 2021 advising that Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) may now begin conducting post-payment medical reviews of items and services for dates of service March 2020 and after.

> Read the complete alert

Earlier today, the United States Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued an alert concerning fraudulent postcards sent to health care organizations claiming to be official communications from OCR. The post cards inform recipients that they are required to participate in a “Required Security Risk Assessment” and directs providers to submit their risk assessment to hsaudit.org, a link that diverts individuals to a non-government website offering consulting services. You should disregard such correspondence and not provide the specified information.

As a reminder, all communications from OCR will come from either an official office or an email address ending with @hhs.gov. You can find a complete list of OCR’s headquarters and regional offices here: https://www.hhs.gov/ocr/about-us/contact-us/index.html.

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