Friday, August 23, 2013

HIPAA...It's a serious matter.

Ya it's boring, but it's serious...




Just about everyone has heard of HIPAA, it is especially drilled down into all health care workers for obvious reasons.  The whole reason of HIPAA is to protect sensitive information from becoming public knowledge.  HIPAA can be confusing, but it is also fairly simple.  The biggest phrase to remember is "is the information or access to information necessary to perform my job".  If the information is not a necessity, and you access it anyways you are in violation of HIPAA.  This pertains to even your personal records, your spouses records and your families' records.

The seriousness of the violation can be summed up in the following paragraph:

"Even if a person is the victim of an egregious violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, the law does not give people the right to sue. Instead, individuals must file a written complaint with the Secretary of HHS via the Office for Civil Rights. It is then within the Secretary’s discretion to investigate the complaint. HHS may impose civil penalties ranging from $100 to $25,000, and criminal sanctions ranging from $50,000 to $250,000—with corresponding prison terms—may be enforced by the Department of Justice." 

All hospitals must self report any violation that is observed in its' organization.  usually this leads to immediate termination.  Also, it is worth noting that even minor violations can land a person on the National Database that will prevent any organization that participates in federal programs from hiring the violator.  Essentially if you violate HIPAA you won't be working in the health care field again. 

MPMC will be increasing the presence in the security of HIPAA related issues.  Also, we will be enforcing the rules and penalties.  I, myself, am astounded at how well the security system monitors for HIPAA violations.  So please...don't be the one that causes a jellybean (red flag)  to be sent to our HIPAA administrator's...

Here are a few HIPAA Myths/Facts:

Myth #1 Health care providers can share personal health information with employers.
FACT .

Myth #2 One doctor’s office cannot send a patient’s medical records to another doctor’s office without that patient’s consent.
FACT
 
Myth #3 The HIPAA Privacy Regulation prohibits or discourages doctor–patient e-mails.
FACT

Myth #4 Hospitals are prohibited from sharing information with the patient’s family without the patient’s express consent.
FACT
 
Myth #5 A patient’s family member can no longer pick up prescriptions for the patient.
FACT


Myth #6 The Privacy Regulation mandates new disclosures of patient information.
FACT
 
Myth #7 Patients can sue health care providers for not complying with the HIPAA Privacy Regulation.
FACT Myth #8 Patients’ medical records can no longer be used for marketing.
FACT .

Myth #9 If a patient refuses to sign an acknowledgment stating that he or she received the health care provider’s notice of privacy practices, the health care provider can, or must, refuse to provide services.
FACT

Myth #10 The HIPAA Privacy Rule imposes many new restrictions on hospitals’ fundraising efforts so that fundraising becomes almost impossible.
FACT

Saturday, August 17, 2013

In the eye's of our patients...

 
I posted this video a few weeks ago..if you can't see it at work, please watch it at home...
 
 
 
 
Sometimes as health care workers we get caught up in the many processes that comes with the territory.  We are focused on documenting in the charts, hurrying up to get a patient chest x-ray done, speedily trying to fax lab results, going from meeting to meeting to make strategic plans, texting a friend instead of working,  not answering the phone during shift change, etc.  We all sometimes fail to realize the purpose of the work we do here.  This is collectively coming together and providing outstanding patient care for our #1 priority...our customer, the patient.  Even if you have no patient contact, your job affects the patient some how, some way...there are no exceptions to this rule. 
 
A simple way to help with this is a process called AIDET.  Or:
 
Acknowledge — Greet people with a smile and use their names if you know them. Attitude is everything. Create a lasting impression.
 
Introduce — Introduce yourself to others politely. Tell them who you are and how you are going to help them. Escort people where they need to go rather than pointing or giving directions.
 
Duration — Keep in touch to ease waiting times. Let others know if there is a delay and how long it will be. Make it better and apply service recovery methods when necessary. (we will be adding said recovery methods in the future)
 
Explanation — Advise others what you are doing, how procedures work and whom to contact if they need assistance. Communicate any steps they may need to take. Make words work. Talk, listen and learn. Make time to help. Ask, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

 
Thank You — Thank somebody. Foster an attitude of gratitude. Thank people for their patronage, help or assistance. The phrase "Thank you for choosing MPMC" should be ingrained in every ones customer service skills. 
 
As you can see this process is based on communication skills.  This is interesting in that majority of the issues that arise in almost all industries and personal lives are communication related.  Just remember at all times try to view your work through the yes of our patients and ask yourself..."How would this look to me if I were coming through MPMC for care". 
 

Friday, August 9, 2013

A well oiled machine...

 


 
 
One of my all-time favorite movies is The Incredibles.  In fact it is the only thing I wanted for my birthday the year it came out (my 30th...I am a kid at heart).  In the movie there are many takeaways and real life lessons that apply to a broad spectrum of life issues and work instances.  The one that really applies to MPMC, especially the last week, is the scene where Bob (Mr. Incredible) is getting lectured by his boss, Gilbert Huph, for helping his customer's finding their ways through Insuracare's red tape.
 
 
 
 
Mr. Huph: "We're supposed to help OUR people! Starting with our stockholders, Bob! Who's helping them out, huh?! (sighs) You know, Bob... a company..."
Bob: "Is like an enormous clock."
Mr. Huph: "Is like an enormous clo-- Yes! Precisely! It only works if all the little cogs *mesh* together! Now, a clock needs to be clean, well-lubricated, and wound tight. The best clocks have jewel movements, cogs that fit, that cooperate by design. (chuckles) I'm being metaphorical, Bob. You know what I mean by cooperative cogs?"
 
Bending Huph's metaphor a bit, MPMC and any other medical organization, is like a clock...or a system.  For the system to work well all parts must be functioning at a high level and all jobs must be done in the best possible manner.  Also, all pieces are important, without one piece the clock will not function.
 
With the impending Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare" there is a part called the Value Based Purchasing Program (VBPP).  There are two main components of the VBPP one that focuses on patient outcomes and one that focuses on patient experience.  Patient experience items are room cleanliness, staff friendliness, etc. 
 
This area is important because it requires all staff to be on top of their game.  Future reimbursements from medicare will be tied to the scores we receive from the patients.  But the bottom line is...we should be doing this for our patients and each other anyways...to make sure we don't end up like this:
 

 


Friday, August 2, 2013


The past week was a very challenging week in a lot of areas in the MPMC organization.  However, when push came to shove we pulled through.  This makes me proud to be a part of something great. I look forward to watching MPMC grow into a great provider and employer of choice.

In the little time that I have been at MPMC one area needs addressed.  This also goes for the majority of other organizations across all spectrums of industry; this is accountability.  O'Hagan, J., & Persaud, D. (2009) states that “accountability encompasses the procedures and processes by which one party justifies and takes responsibility for its activities such as for achieving various organizational goals”. 

As health care workers this can be anything from not taking responsibility for medication errors, blaming others for your mistakes and letting your co-worker down by not performing your job in accordance to normal standards.  Accountability comes from the top level of CEO, COO and CNO holding each other accountable down to the most important health care workers….the front line workers.

We will be working more on accountability in the future to ensure we transform into the employer of choice and provide of choice.  In the meantime watch the video…there is a lot of take away in it.  BTW we will be moving my blog to the MPMC website in the future.
 
 
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