Federal Anti-Kickback Statute Safe Harbors The OIG has adopted two safe harbors allowing for certain arrangements involving the donation of electronic prescribing and electronic health records (“EHR") technologies. The safe harbors reflect an attempt to encourage the donation of this technology in circumstances where the donations are unlikely to be constituted inducements or rewards for the generation of business payable by federal health care programs. Electronic Prescribing Items and Services The electronic prescribing safe harbor shields the donation of hardware, software, and information technology and training services by certain donors to certain recipients in connection with the Medicare Part D program. {Dunlop, 2007 #14} Specifically, the safe harbor only protects donations by: (1) a hospital to its medical staff; (2) a medical group to its members; and (3) a prescription drug plan (“PDP”) or a Medicare Advantage (“MA”) organization to prescribing health care professionals or in-network pharmacies and pharmacists.{Dunlop, 2007 #14} Donations of electronic prescribing technology must be documented by the parties in a signed writing specifying the donor’s costs for the technology provided. Donors cannot select recipients on the basis of the volume or value of referrals or other business generated between the parties, and recipients cannot condition doing business with potential donors on the provision of electronic prescribing technology.{Dunlop, 2007 #14} Furthermore, the donated technology must be compatible with other electronic prescribing and health records systems, and donors cannot restrict the recipient’s right or ability to use the technology for all patients, regardless of payor status. EHR Items and Servic... ... middle of paper ... ... “addressable.” A covered entity must implement a required implementation specification, but it need not implement an addressable specification if it has determined that the specification is not a reasonable and appropriate safeguard given the entity’s operating environment and the likely protective effect of the safeguard. If the implementation specification is determined not to be a reasonable and appropriate answer to the entity’s security needs, the entity must implement an equivalent alternative, if reasonable and appropriate. Where no reasonable and appropriate alternative exists, the entity need not implement any safeguard. However, in situations where an entity decides against implementation of an addressable specification, the entity must document the reasons for the determination that such implementation specification was unreasonable and inappropriate.
– Health care providers who transmit health information in electronic form for certain standard transactions.
The federal government has taken a stance to standardized care by creating incentive programs that are mandated under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) of 2009. This act encourages healthcare providers and healthcare institutions to adopt Meaningful use in order to receive incentives from Medicare and Medicaid. Meaningful use is the adoption of a certified health record system that acquires or obtains specified objectives about a patient. The objectives or measures are considered gold standard practices with the EHR system. Examples of the measures include data entry of vital signs, demographics, allergies, entering medical orders, providing patients with electronic copies of their records, and many more pertinent information regarding the patient (Friedman et al, 2013, p.1560).
When you take the socialistic perspective towards implementing this system in Canada, you can see the advantages it brings to improving health care. If the government plays a larger role in funding the development of electronic health records for private and smaller organizations the benefits will immediately result in better quality of health care. As shown in a study done by the University of California in San Francisco that focused on expensive costs that make it difficult for smaller practices to incorporate electronic health records, “need policies designed to provide incentives and support services to help practices improve the quality of their care by using EHRs.” (Miller, West, Brown, Sim & Ganchoff, 2005) In this article they explain that electronic health records improve quality of health care, but the costs are too expensive for small practices to incorporate them.
...vacy screen on the computer and/or turning the computer away so customers cannot see what’s on the screen, and use a secure network to receive new prescriptions or request refills. A patient must be notified and give authorization to allow a list of their drugs be given to a marketing company. The authorization must say what the data disclosure and use is being planned for and the date when the authorization will expire. In a community practice a pharmacist cannot discuss treatment with anyone unless patient signs authorization. In an institutional practice the patient can call the pharmacist and give permission to talk to a doctor if able to speak. In case of an emergency, such as a heart attack or car accident, the doctor can call the pharmacist to get the information without patient consent. A patient must give a written authorization in a community pharmacy.
The U. S government passed the American Recovery Act in 2009 that established incentives and penalties to promote EHR use. From this legislation the Meaningful Use Program for EHR’s s was created. Through The Meaningful Use Program the U.S. government is able to support the adoption and use of EHR technology to enhance and revolutionize health care. The goal of the program is to increase EHR adoption, improve quality, safety, reduce disparities, and improve public health (hmsa , 2012).
Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act consists of several subtitles. The subtitle D of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act deals with the privacy and security issues that are associated with the electronic transmission of health information. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act requires that as of 2011 all healthcare providers are going to be presented with the opportunity of financial incentives for showing meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs). The proposed incentives will be offered up until 2015 and after that, penalties may occur for the failure of representing the use of EHR. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act even started grants for the training centers for all staff members that are required to support a health information technology infrastructure. (www.healthcareitnews.com).
Portability can improve patient care. Patients no longer have to “tote” their cumbersome medical records around anymore. EHR’s give physicians and clinicians access to critical healthcare information in the palm of their hand, which ultimately leads to improved patient care outcomes. EHR’s also provide security to vital medical and personal healthcare information. Organizations like HIPPA defines policies, procedures and guidelines for preserving the privacy and security of discrete distinguishable health information (HHS.gov,
With today's use of electronic medical records software, information discussed in confidence with your doctor(s) will be recorded into electronic data files. The obvious concern is the potential for your records to be seen by hundreds of strangers who work in health care, the insurance industry, and a host of businesses associated with medical organizations. Fortunately, this catastrophic scenario will likely be avoided. Congress addressed growing public concern about privacy and security of personal health data, and in 1996 passed “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act” (HIPAA). HIPAA sets the national standard for electronic transfers of health data.
Reimbursement policies prevent the total integration of telemedicine into health care practice (Prinz, 2008). Today, there is no overall telemedicine reimbursement policy in the federal health care system (HRSA, 2011 & OAT, 2003). As a result, reimbursement for telecare has been limited and somewhat haphazard. It’s up to each state to specify what telemedicine services, if any, are eligible for Medicaid reimbursement (HRSA, 2011 & OAT, 2003).
Properly implemented and medication-use technology has the potential to moderate these costs. Bar-code-assisted medication administration (BCMA) has been shown to reduce medication administration errors by as much as 54-86%. BCMA, along with computerized electronic prescriber order entry and an electronic medication administration record, closes a technological loop that extends from the transmission of the order to the administration of the medication at bedside (Strykowski, Hadsall, Sawchyn, VanSickle, Niznick,
Whitten, P., & Buis, L. (2007). Private payer reimbursement for telemedicine services in the United States. Telemedicine and e-Health, 13(1), 15-24.
Advances in technology have influences our society at home, work and in our health care. It all started with online banking, atm cards, and availability of children’s grades online, and buying tickets for social outings. There was nothing electronic about going the doctor’s office. Health care cost has been rising and medical errors resulting in loss of life cried for change. As technologies advanced, the process to reduce medical errors and protect important health care information was evolving. In January 2004, President Bush announced in the State of the Union address the plan to launch an electronic health record (EHR) within the next ten years (American Healthtech, 2012).
Electronic-prescribing, often referred to as e-prescribing, is a fairly new, innovative way for physicians and other medical personnel to prescribe medications and keep track of patients’ medical history. Not only has e-prescribing enabled prescribers to electronically send a prescription to the patients’ pharmacy of choice, in the short amount of time it has been available, it has significantly reduced health care costs, not only for the patient, but for the medical facilities as well. In 2003, e-prescribing was included in the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) which jumpstarted the role of e-prescribing in healthcare. It has proven to significantly reduce the yearly number medication errors and prescription fraud, and its widespread publicity has helped build awareness of e-prescribing’s role in enhancing patient safety. Although it has not been in practice for very long, e-prescribing has already made a positive impact in the field of health care.
medications is more than the act of getting drugs to a patient. The delivery of medication is directly tied to the charge for the medication. Thus the responsibility for charging or crediting medication belongs to technicians. This aspect of their job is strictly governed by federal regulations. These laws hold the technician directly responsible for the accuracy of a patient’s account’s charge and credit transactions. Because every dose is related to a specific day and time, when technicians credit they must apply that change to the corresponding dose. Assignificant as accuracy is to the patient’s account, accuracy in the making of their medications is even more important.
reimbursement determinations. As a result, the camaraderie among physicians has developed into a more aggressive approach to impede competition (Shi & Singh, 2012). Little information is shared with patients in regards to procedures or disease control. The subjects are forced to rely on the internet for enlightenment on the scope of their illnesses (Shi & Singh, 2012). Furthermore, the U.S. health care system fails to provide adequate knowledge on billing strategies for operations and other medical practices. The cost in a free system is based on supply and demand and is known in advance of hospital admission (Shi & Singh, 2012). The need for new technology is another characteristic that is of interest when considering the health care system. Technology is often v...