Practice Management
Several female patients have reported sexual assaults to police in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, after visiting a Carbon Health Urgent Care location in the area, leading to charges against a medical assistant (MA), according to Philly Voice. The MA was arrested, and authorities allege he took photos and videos of unsuspecting women, posed as a nurse, performed physical exams he was not authorized to do, and told a female patient to undress while he was in …
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Medical buildings can be vulnerable to any number of disruptive accidents that might cause harm to patients or prevent the delivery of care, including motor vehicle incidents. For example, 1 person died and 5 others were injured after a vehicle crashed into the emergency department at the St. David’s North Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas, last week, according to news reports. In the St. David’s case, 3 team members received minor injuries from the …
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Once a pharmacy benefit management company, Optum has now grown under the UnitedHealth Group umbrella into a multifaceted line of business that brought in $182.8 billion in revenue in 2022. Just this year alone, Optum Health—the care-delivery arm of the enterprise—has added about 20,000 physicians to its ranks, bringing its total physician force to nearly 90,000, according to officials at an investor conference, as reported by Becker’s Hospital Review. Another 40,000 advanced practice providers are …
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Even after years of training programs, clarifications, and guidance, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) continues to confuse healthcare professionals. A top 3 list presented in Physicians Practice outlines some cautions and misunderstandings about this comprehensive patient-protection law. Much of the list centers on proper protocol for workers in healthcare settings who might have access to the medical records of their fellow employees—in other words, “snooping behavior.” You can’t escape the …
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The challenges of staffing rural urgent care centers has spurred some operators to get creative in order to meet patient demand. The question is, are some getting a little too creative in billing for their services? These murky waters have led to two individuals—an urgent care physician-owner and his office manager—being charged with healthcare fraud in Missouri. The United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri alleges that the pair “conspired to make false statements …
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While it may be premature to call the upcoming months “COVID season,” it’s a fact that case and hospitalization rates are starting to climb in multiple U.S. states. As such, it’s a good time to reconsider the importance of keeping your coding on point. The consequences of getting it wrong could result in underpayment—clearly not good for any business—but the consequences could be far worse if improper coding results in patients and payers being billed …
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The fight by nurse practitioners to be addressed as “Dr.” (and by some physicians to keep them from doing so) has reached the litigious stage in California. As reported by The Washington Post, three NPs there are suing to prevent enforcement of a state law under which physicians and surgeons have the exclusive right to refer to themselves as “doctor” or to use “Dr.” before their name. And the state does, in fact, take an …
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Urgent care operators as a whole put considerable attention on ensuring that their coding and claims procedures are pristine. It’s not just a matter of economic survival through ensuring the practice gets the reimbursements they deserve, but also an existential imperative; practices that fail to demonstrate due diligence in seeking that reimbursement face potentially catastrophic financial consequence. Even the appearance of noncompliance with proper procedures can raise red flags and sink a perfectly healthy operation. …
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It’s unlikely anyone working in your urgent care center would post confidential patient information online, even while venting about an especially tough day at work. Unfortunately, it’s not an impossibility, however, so a timely reminder to the team may be in order. If you need evidence of that, consider a suit filed against a hospital in Oregon alleging that an employee took—and shared online—photos of a burn victim being treated there. He died of his …
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Remember, Providing a ‘Safe Work Environment’ Includes Reducing Risk for Violence Against Staff Maintaining an urgent care operation where patients and staff alike feel comfortable and safe is as essential as providing top-notch care. If the public or your team don’t feel safe, why would they choose you instead of one of your many competitors? A hospital in Ohio found out the hard way that making sure the place is up to fire code and …
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