INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Here you will find answers to frequently asked questions
and recent articles we have written.
Removing Reviews from Google
Sometimes a review may be inappropriate, or you may disagree with it. You can ask Google to remove or delete an inappropriate review from your Business Profile and in certain circumstances, Google can remove reviews that violate Google's policies. You can read...
The United Healthcare Breach
WHAT HAPPENED? Most are aware of the massive cyberattack on United Healthcare (UHC) revealed over the past few weeks. The breach has been traced to an employee download that allowed cybercriminals access to huge amounts of the database. The impact of this breach is...
FTC Eyeglass Rule and Contact Lens Rule
Recently, PCS has become aware of an apparent increase in violations of the prescription release requirements under Federal law. An update on the requirements of these laws appears in order. Eyeglasses The FTC’s Ophthalmic Practice Rule related to eyeglass...
The Corporate Transparency Act
The Corporate Transparency Act went into effect in January of 2024, and may require your practice to report information about ownership to the government. *** Update March 22, 2024 *** On March 1, 2024, the U.S. District Court, N.D. of Alabama declared the act...
Importance of Auditing Your Medical Records
Routine medical record audits serve three important functions: They provide a check-up on documentation and billing patterns. Problematic compliance can be identified and corrected through training before a real audit happens and a large refund is demanded. They can...
Business Associate Agreements
Who Is a Business Associate? The concept of who is a business associate is a common area of confusion but doesn’t have to be. To define who is a business associate, simply ask three questions. Does the individual or group have access to patient information? Do they...
MIPS 2024 Update
Not many providers understand MIPS and few ODs chose to participate in MIPS, but we do get questions about it frequently. If you are wondering how it applies to you, this article should help. Does MIPS apply to you? MIPS does apply to optometrist who bill Medicare and...
ADA compliance checklist for websites
ADA compliance checklist for websites Step 1: Read the law documentation Step 2: All media files and maps should have an “alt” tag Step 3: All your online forms should have descriptive html tags Step 4: All hyperlinks should have a descriptive anchor text Step 5: All...
ADA Website Compliance
Many of our clients are asking about the new ADA website regulations, and while there are no new "regulations", there were some recently updated "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines". In this article we will explain what that means for you as an optometrist and...
PCI Compliance
We get questions fairly regularly about PCI compliance and what it means for the practice. In this article we will give a brief overview of what it means for the practice. What is PCI Compliance? PCI compliance, or payment card industry compliance, refers to a set of...
How to deal with Online Reviews
There are 3 options when it comes to responding to online reviews: Don’t respond at all - The safest, but not always practical Respond in a completely generic way, - The office must be VERY careful not to confirm any patient details or even that the poster is a...
Employee Terminations – Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow
As a compliance company specializing in human resource management, employee termination problems are a weekly issue – at a minimum. Like many issues in HR, the rules can be very complex and often don’t even follow common sense. To start, let’s clarify that the...
How and when do you “fire” a patient
Unfortunately, if you see patients, you will encounter difficult and or rude ones. Good customer service skills will usually help you deal with almost all of them but occasionally a situation will arise where you need to "fire" a patient. While Dr. DeLoach and I have...
Once Again….New I-9 Form Regulations
Here we go again. Over the past two years USACIS has issued proposed or impending changes to the I-9 system of employee verification. Most of these were recalled. Now we have another somewhat last-minute change in the I-9 system that WILL go into effect. In general,...
HIPAA Scare Tactics on the Rise
Once again, PCS is getting calls from clients about certain companies providing inaccurate information regarding the Federal HIPAA program. These "sales/scare" tactics are unfortunately nothing new. If you are contacted by companies and their high-pressure sales...
USCDI and The CURES Act, What You Need to Know
USCDI, MIPS, QPP, CURES, CDS…it can all be quite confusing, but let’s try to simplify it: USCDI stands for United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) and it is just a way to standardize information in an EHR system so it can be shared with others (kind of...
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)
Congress has passed a law regarding pregnant workers that will go into effect June 27, 2023. While short notice, an explanation will show that the impact of this law is not as far-reaching as some blogs and HR “specialists” have reported. What Does The Law Say? The...
Common Audit Triggers and How To Avoid Them
Unfortunately, too much of the billing and coding education in healthcare focuses on gaming the system to get the most out of insurers. This has led significant fraud waste and abuse in healthcare. In fact, the Department of Justice estimates it may be as much as $100...
Handling suspected substance abuse in the office
Recently PCS was contacted by 2 unrelated practices dealing with potential substance abuse issues. Our advice to them could be helpful in general. The first step is to make sure that there is evidence to take additional steps. Doctors/managers should carefully monitor...
Are Your Website and Social Media Platform Communications HIPAA Compliant?
The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights recently issued updated comments regarding HIPAA-compliant patient communication. Patient communication and protection of health information have been significant areas of attention in the past two...