Opinion

New guidance on the use of text messaging by physicians shows some flexibility when it comes to HIPAA, notes a healthcare attorney.

With smartphone use in healthcare on the rise-both by patients and providers-there are important steps to take to avoid a HIPAA violation.

Leverage your value.

Our office is having adifficult time reachingpatients within therequired two businessdays from dischargefor transitional care management(TCM) codes. Will this precludeus from billing the codes whenall of the other criteria are met?

Understand the clinical and legal risks surrounding these plans that require patients to pay more up front.

There are more than 50 policies that medical practices may have to implement to comply with the Health Insurance Portabilityand Accountability Act (HIPAA), so it’s no wonder meeting these requirements may appear overwhelming, especially for smaller practices with limited time and resources.

Last year, U.S. representatives Phil Roe, MD, (R-Tennessee) and John C. Fleming, MD, (R-Louisiana) learned an important lesson about the power of the GOP Doctors Caucus to affect legislation.

Experts explore the operational requirements, from care coordination to patient engagement.

The government wants physicians to identify overpayments, but many say the responsibilities remain unclear.

Tips to get the most for your continuing medical education spending.

As the 2016 election heads for the home stretch, what will a new administration mean for the ACA?

Researchers find that direct-acting antivirals are better tolerated in patients with hepatitis C virus infections vs. interferon-based therapy.

PCPs can “play a decisive role in eradicating” hepatitis C virus in the U.S., says lead author of new study.

Health system executives will be focusing their attention on post-acute care networks over the next three years, according to Premier, Inc.’s spring 2016 Economic Outlook Survey.

When it comes to end-of-life issues across all ages, the primary care physician(s) who know the family best should have an integral role in the formal bedside decision-making process. Furthermore, primary care physicians should be compensated for the time it takes at the bedside to assist in directing the best care for these patients.

A recent report released by the Association of American Medical Colleges forecasted that the U.S., will face a physician shortage of somewhere between 61,700 and 94,700 doctors over the next decade.

The market for telemedicine is big and growing, yet despite the growth in telemedicine, many physicians resist it.

UnitedHealthcare has generated more conversation about the challenges with the Exchange Products and that has certainly helped their stock price.

Primary care physicians commonly screen their patients for depression, but still underuse established and effective care management practices compared to other chronic illnesses like diabetes, asthma, and congestive heart failure, according to a recent study published in Health Affairs.

DOWLING Contributing authorGETTING PAID FOR HOME VISITSRenee Dowling is a billing andcoding consultant with VEIConsulting in Indianapolis, Indiana.Send your coding questions to:medec@advanstar.com.I am in private practice and recently did a home visit, one-hour evaluation for the first time. What is the code for the initial home visit and then subsequent visits?

EHR use, MOC and the 2016 presidential election are the hot topics of the latest issue of Your Voice.

On October 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ grace period for denials of claims under ICD-10 will end. Physicians will do well to recognize that while the updated and expanded standards for coding specificity offer a new level of accuracy, they may also affect the bottom line.

An exclusive physician poll shows practices face more patient anger, and the cause is largely financial anxiety.

Until they’ve opened a letter from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) notifying them that their practice is being audited for HIPAA compliance, many physicians don’t realize the gravity of the situation their practices may be facing.

Electronic health record systems were not designed for population health, but help is on the way.

An in-depth look into how these new care collaborators can complement, not compete, with your services.

Senator Bernie Sanders has revived debate, but experts say it remains an unlikely dream in the United States.

The current form of the program ends in 2019, but physicians still should try to meet its requirements.

Major insurers are no longer sure if they can afford to participate in the Affordable Care Act's (Obamacare) insurance exchanges. That's making the White House nervous.

With the current healthcare atmosphere emphasizing both efficiency and quality, physicians are faced with constant pressure to do more in less time