Tom Terry Seminars » Patient Service

How much will “I Think So” cost you?

Tom Terry — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:53:08 +0000

One thing for sure the world has changed for the dental profession as to the enforcement of regulations. You are either brain-dead or a member of Congress (same thing) to think that your dental office won’t be inspected. Problem is my experience working with dental offices tells me that 9 out of 10 will fail inspections. A common issue among dentists is that they assume their office is ok and their employees know what to do when it comes to compliance. When I ask dentists if their office would pass an inspection the number one response is “I think so”. When I ask employees are they compliant with regulations the number one response is “I think so”.

“I think so” doesn’t do squat for patients and employees safety, it doesn’t make an office HIPAA compliant, it doesn’t make your office OSHA compliant, it doesn’t prevent cross contamination, it doesn’t protect your business assets, in fact “I think so” is just a worthless brain fart just like a politician’s campaign promise. So how much will “I think so” cost you?

HIPAA & Patient Information Security

Tom Terry — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 12:30:59 +0000

All businesses that obtain and maintain healthcare information must provide the highest standards to protect the information from accidental or deliberate misuse or disclosure.

New patient information is verified with a driver’s license or state issued ID.
Insurance information is verified with a driver’s license or state issued ID
Credit card transaction is verified with a driver’s license or state issued ID
Third-Party Disclosure

Patient information is disclosed to third-party entities for the following purposes only,

For treatment
To obtain payment for treatment
For healthcare operations

Control Accidental Disclosure - work practices that reasonably prevent accidental disclosure must be exercised at all times. From a simple procedure of covering protected health information to locking-up unattended filing cabinets, to being aware of the surroundings when discussing patient information is vital. In addition, patient’s protected health information should never be discussed out-side of work under any circumstances or for any reasons.

Restrict the use of Patient Information - the patient’s protected health information (PHI) must be used for healthcare related purposes only.

Apply the Minimum Necessary Rule – the concept of the “Minimum Necessary Rule” is that the very minimum of protected health information (PHI) be used, accessed or released for any purpose or task even if an exception is permitted.

No Marketing Activity – at no time protected health information may be sold or transferred to any third party for the purpose of marketing activity, whether for profit or not, or to introduce a person, business, product, or service.

Control Electronic Transmissions – prior to transmitting protected health information (PHI) on electronic devices such as computers, fax machines, voice mail, and telephones, it must be determined whether it is secured and if confidentially will be maintained and not compromised.

Control Discarding Protected Health Information – all documents that contain protected health information (PHI) when discarded must be shredded or destroyed, to prevent disclosure. At no time documents containing protected health information are discarded if confidentiality will be compromised.

HIPAA and Patient Information Security is achieved only when employees are well trained, well informed and apply what they have learned.

Dental Compliance – After Hours Phone Message

Tom Terry — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:09:40 +0000

After hours phone message must provide clear and complete instructions to the caller. The message should include the following,

The hours of operation
How to leave a message
In case of a medical emergency hang-up and call 911
How to contact the doctor in case of a dental related emergency
How to contact an on-call doctor when the doctor is not available.