E Health Telephone Seminars

Effective Auditing of Physicians' Documentation BenefitsThe federal government's increasing interest in fraud, waste and abuse heightens the awareness of physician practices, both large and small, of the increasing scrutiny of physician documentation to support billings. In the past, audits are performed and physicians were lectured but all too often little improvement was noted. How can practices efficiently and effectively audit physician  more...

Wellness Programs: Rewards, Penalties, Legal Risks, and Legal Developments ...e health reform debate. Health care reform clearly demonstrates the desire of Congress and the President to encourage wellness programs and healthy lifestyles to control the cost of health insurance. Much of their interest is based on success stories from the private sector. Despite regulatory uncertainties, rising health insurance costs have led more employers than ever to turn to wellness  more...

Common Injuries in Workers' Compensation BenefitsThis live audio conference 'Common Injuries in Workers' Compensation,' presented by John W. Valente, Esq., will discuss some of the solutions and strategies used by employers to both prevent and control common workplace injury claims. A review of common injuries employers face every day in the workplace injury realm, ranging from slip and fall claims to back injuries from lifting, and  more...

Common Injuries in Workers' Compensation BenefitsThis live audio conference 'Common Injuries in Workers' Compensation,' presented by John W. Valente, Esq., will discuss some of the solutions and strategies used by employers to both prevent and control common workplace injury claims. A review of common injuries employers face every day in the workplace injury realm, ranging from slip and fall claims to back injuries from lifting, and  more...

HIPAA Security Compliance Challenges after the HITECH Act BenefitsEveryone who handles any electronic patient information should attend this live audio conference on compliance with the HIPAA security regulation. All entities covered under HIPAA must take special care of electronic patient health information, including establishing policies and taking regular actions as part of a security management process. Under new regulations due to the HITECH Act  more...

Fraud Enforcement Trends in the Health Care Industry ...nefitsNew funding, new tools, and a heightened focus on the health care industry by civil and criminal law enforcement authorities means that investigations are not what they used to be. Learn more about what areas enforcement authorities are focusing on, where the big and small cases are being brought, how to deal with law enforcement's new tools, and how best to prepare yourself and your  more...

Health Savings Accounts BenefitsThis live audio conference will explain the basic rules for eligibility, contributions and use of an HSA with a high deductible plan. It will also review current studies on whether HSAs are achieving the goal of reducing total health care costs through consumerism. Focusing on the final comparability rules for employer contributions and updates on the new contribution limits and IRS  more...

Powers of Attorney: Medical Records Release Concerns BenefitsBusy medical practices understand that each day personal health information is transmitted in various forms between hospitals, doctors, attorneys, insurance companies, patients and their lawyers and families. With increasing reliance on electronic medical records health information can be transmitted with minimal effort. However, health information requests become more confusing and less  more...

Best Practices in Nursing Documentation: Writing Effective and Legal Proof Notes BenefitsLong gone are the days that nurses and other health care providers hand-wrote cryptic notes on essay paper-like chart pages that rarely were ever looked at again. Long gone, also, are the days that physicians would only look at labs, reports and other physician's notes, expecting the nurse to call to the physician's attention anything important about the patient so they didn't have to read  more...

Workers' Compensation: Return to Work Issues BenefitsBy attending this program you will learn the fundamentals of managing the employee returning to work from a compensable injury. In addition to an understanding of the interplay between federal laws prohibiting discrimination against health conditions and state workers' compensation laws, you will learn strategies to make the most of functional capacity evaluations and rehabilitation  more...

Weight Loss At the Workplace: Legal Issues For Employers Seeking To Reduce Health Care Costs ...onsideration of any work place programs assembled to reduce health care costs by encouraging employees to lose weight. The speaker's discussion of employee wellness programs targeting weight reduction or obesity will analyze this issue within its broader context and potential legal implications. This live audio conference is designed for human resource managers, benefits and payroll  more...

Key Legal and Practical Considerations When Forming an ACO: Seizing the Opportunities and Overcoming Challenges to Achieve Qual BenefitsThe long-awaiting Final Rule governing ACOs participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) provides the industry with an improved outlook of the potential success that may be achieved, but also a daunting list of challenges to be met in order to seize the opportunities. This live audio conference will walk you through the legal, regulatory, policy, and practical challenges and  more...

Developing a School Wellness Program BenefitsAs many of you are aware, childhood obesity is one of our nation's leading health threats. Today, about 1 in 3 children and youth (ages 2-19) in the United States is already overweight or obese -- that's nearly 25 million young people. - Disappearing recess: Nearly one-third of elementary schools do not schedule recess on a regular basis. - Less physical education: 92% of elementary  more...

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Records: What Can You Release? BenefitsDo you know that medical record custodians may be violating a patient's privacy protections without even knowing it in responding to requests for a patient's health information that contain substance abuse and mental health information? Do you know that you may need to withhold mental health and substance abuse records, even in responding to a records subpoena? Learn more about these  more...

Understanding Your Summary Plan Descriptions BenefitsEmployers who sponsor ERISA-covered health and welfare plans are required to communicate the terms of the plan to participants in a summary plan description. The SPD is an important disclosure document that describes, in understandable terms, the rights, benefits and responsibilities of participants and beneficiaries in ERISA-covered health and welfare benefit plans. The SPD must include  more...

Understanding LEED for Sustainable Building BenefitsMystified by the new LEED certification process? Concerned about whether you need a new approach for your next LEED project? Confused about the requirements for maintaining your existing AP status? This live audio conference provides the answers! By attending you will understand how the project certification and professional accreditation requirements have changed with the release of  more...

Best Practices to Modify Electronic Health Records While Maintaining Record Integrity BenefitsMoving to an electronic health record system can make it possible to work more efficiently and effectively by automating certain tasks and making information easier to locate. But sometimes, even electronic records must be modified by adding, amending, correcting or deleting information. In some ways, paper records were easier to deal with, as incorrectly filed documents could simply be  more...

Discharge Codes: Impact on the Post-Acute Care Transfer Policy - Risks and Rewards BenefitsImproper understanding and application of discharge codes may result in reduced hospital reimbursement and represent a compliance risk under the PACT policy. William E. Haik, M.D. has been involved in ICD-9-CM coding and chart documentation for more than 25 years and will explain why the problem exists and how to remedy it. This live audio conference is designed for medical records  more...

The WE in Wellness--5 Skills Every Case Manager Should Know for Effective Case Management BenefitsHelping clients attain their highest degree of wellness requires many skills and a repertoire of approaches, some which may be new to case managers and the teams with which they work. The specialty of Case Management has become more and more crucial for the coordination of an individual client's healthcare provided by multidisciplinary teams within and between organizations and systems. As  more...

Medical Records Update for Paralegals: Releases, Retention and Confidentiality Requirements ...s program will specifically outline the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the regulations promulgated thereunder, which have been substantially upgraded in the recently-passed stimulus bill and made applicable to entities that were not subject to HIPAA before. This audio conference will also identify common, state statutory and regulatory  more...

Smartphone Policies For The Health Care Industry ...ch devices. Many of these issues are even more acute in the health care industry because of the 24/7 nature of the facilities, and the regulations regarding patient privacy. Failing to have and enforce an appropriate policy can create liability both to employees and patients. This live audio conference will help you develop a plan to (1) identify the legal issues raised by the implementation of  more...

COBRA: A Little of Everything is Changing ...stood parts of the COBRA law is the COBRA obligation on the Health FSA and Voluntary Payroll Deduct plan. We will discuss the employers obligation - some voluntary payroll deduct plans are COBRA - some plans aren't?? Worse for the Health FSA - the FSA is always a COBRA obligation but, that obligation is determined on an individual basis. Some are eligible to continue and some are not. We will  more...

Why Is This Guy Still on My Health Plan? BenefitsWe have encountered many situations where an employee remains on the company's health benefits as an active employee for many years past the date in which the employee was actively at work for the company. This live audio conference will answer a common problem employers experience, what date should an employee be treated as a terminated employee when he/she is on a leave of absence, or  more...

Determining Meaningful Use for Electronic Health Records BenefitsIn order to receive incentive payments from the federal government, physicians and hospitals must achieve 'meaningful use' of electronic health records through an attestation process. This process is new and complicated. This live audio conference will outline meaningful use guidelines and requirements to receive incentive payments, including timelines, criteria, an outline of the  more...

Financial Statement Preparation and Analysis for Nonprofits BenefitsThis live audio conference will provide you with an overview of nonprofit financial statements and both external and internal nonprofit financial reporting concepts. We will focus on the primary users of nonprofit financial statements and the key differences between nonprofit and for-profit financial statements and reporting. This program will explore the fundamental accounting concepts  more...

Understand and Interpret Financial Statements ...ey provide both a historical and current perspective on the health of an organization, as well as offer indications of future performance. They offer management, creditors, prospective investors and various other users a means to judge the financial performance of an organization. The speaker will discuss the various components of a set of financial statements. He will also discuss balance  more...

IPPS Final Rule BenefitsThe Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) was implemented in 1983 replacing a cost-based reimbursement methodology in an effort to better control the costs of providing care to the Medicare inpatient and to incentivize hospitals to better manage utilization. As time has passed CMS has modified the program to better recognize severity of illness AND to reduce payments to hospitals for  more...

The Trickle Down Effect of Health Care Reform: A Potpourri of Payroll, Benefits, Income Taxes, and Other Changes BenefitsThe phased in requirements of health care reform require that you continually monitor the landscape to spend your benefit dollars effectively, while remaining compliant. This is an opportunity for employers to reassess their decisions and consider the future impact of this legislation. Attend this live audio conference and stay current on your compliance obligations, planning  more...

Strategies to Reduce Bullying and Social Aggression BenefitsIncreasingly, educators, health professionals, parents and lawmakers realize the seriousness of bullying, cyber bullying and social aggression in school. Certain state laws and regulations now hold schools personally responsible for the effects of bullying, including cyber bullying. Whether your school plans to implement one or more bullying prevention strategies or a comprehensive  more...

Workers' Compensation Metrics: Assessing and Reporting on the Success of Your Program BenefitsEmployers struggle with finding a way to measure the effectiveness of their occupational health programs and crafting reporting packages that are relevant and action-focused. Often data is difficult to collect, or overwhelmingly detailed. Vendor-supplied reports are generally focused on tactics, not strategy outcomes. This leaves many employers unable to answer some of the most critical  more...

Legal Issues Surrounding the Utilization and Maintenance of Computerized Medical Records BenefitsWith the federal government's prioritization of health information technology and evidence that electronic health record systems can reduce medical errors and lead to more efficient delivery of care, many hospitals and providers are beginning to implement EHRs in their facilities and practices. Despite federal regulations that permit certain donations of EHR technology, the implementation  more...

Preparing for Medicaid Audits ...ny instances, one of its largest budgetary items. It is the health insurer of last resort for children and the economically disadvantaged. The recent economic downturn has caused shortfalls to many states' overall budgets. Under recently enacted health care reform legislation the Medicaid program and its projected budgetary shortfalls is only going to expand. Those states are now looking toward  more...

Medical Records: Responding to Subpoenas and Investigations BenefitsDon't be caught off guard. You could be breaching the confidentiality of patients without even realizing it! From HIPAA requirements to state privacy laws, legal issues abound in the medical records arena. If you're not up to date on medical records law, your company could face serious legal and financial liability risks. Attend this audio conference and gain critical information on  more...

Managing Employees' Pre-Existing Conditions: Strategies for Reducing Injury Losses BenefitsAttend this audio conference to learn the fundamentals of managing employees with pre-existing health conditions. In addition to an understanding of the interplay between federal laws prohibiting discrimination against health conditions and state workers' compensation laws, you will learn the nuances of distinguishing between pre-existing conditions and new work-related injuries. You will  more...

How Can End-of-Life Planning Resources Benefit Your Workplace? BenefitsEnd-of-life issues can be a major distraction for employees. MetLife estimates that U.S. businesses lose between $17 billion and $33 billion per year in productivity of full-time workers with caregiving responsibilities. Employers need to place a priority on addressing end-of-life issues. These issues affect their employees who serve as caregivers to aging parents, children and other  more...

HR Time Lines: The Complex Integration of FMLA, WC, Disability and COBRA ... What can run together? What cannot? When can we cancel the health plan, for what reason and is it a COBRA qualifying event? During this audio conference we will pull all of these together to explain the employer's liability. When can coverage be canceled? What laws protect employee benefits? Many times all of these laws touch ONE person - you need to be sure your corporate policies and  more...

Risk Management in the Retention and Destruction of Medical Records BenefitsThere are many different types of medical records. The retention and destruction of each is governed by various state and federal laws and regulations. Additionally, when evaluating the storage and destruction of medical records, other factors such as reimbursement and billing, accreditation and professional standards must be considered. This audio conference will help you understand  more...

Complying With OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements BenefitsMany companies do not understand the scope or complexity of the various recordkeeping obligations under OSHA's laws and regulations. This audio conference will provide guidance as to OSHA's recordkeeping requirements, including pending regulatory changes and trends. Learn about OSHA's new penalty policy, as well as the pending OSHA Reform Bill hidden in the Miner Safety and Health Act.  more...

Economic Substance Doctrine Codification Update ...of costly penalties for both individuals and employers. The Health Care Act includes several nonhealth related provisions that affect businesses. Included are the Codification of the Economic Substance Doctrine, expansion of Medicare taxes on high-income earners and the revised reporting requirements on certain payments to corporation. As a result of attending this audio conference, you will  more...

Risk Management in Telephone Triage: Lessons Learned From Telephone Triage Litigation BenefitsThe telephone, once used merely as an appointment scheduling device, has become an integral part of provider-patient interactions. Research indicates that approximately 20 to 28 percent of all primary health care is handled over the telephone. However, without proper training and accountability, telephone triage can result in improper diagnosis and management as well as legal liability.  more...

Medical Privacy Rights of Minors ...care provided. You will learn about the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and related regulations, as well as common state statutory and regulatory schemes to deal with parental rights and responsibilities. The audio conference will also offer you some advice, tips and sample forms for medical providers to manage the expectations of parents and  more...

Impact of Health Care Reform on Elder Law ...he Patient Protection and Affordability Act of 2010 and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. These together are referred to as the Affordability Care Act. This act makes changes to Medicaid and Medicare which includes payment structure and the delivery system. It extends the life of the Part A trust fund by 12 years and strengthens Medicare guarantee benefits. These changes  more...

Mental Health Record Compliance BenefitsMental health providers are subject to many restrictions on how they can deal with patient records. As a health care provider, you are generally subject to the HIPAA medical record privacy and security requirements. To the extent they deal with substance abuse diagnosis and treatment, you are also subject to additional federal confidentiality restrictions, particularly part 2 of 42 CFR.  more...

Grant and Other Funding Opportunities Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 ...e health reform legislation signed into law in March provides a significant number of direct and indirect federal grant funding opportunities for medical providers, hospitals, home health agencies, nursing facilities, colleges and universities, and employers. Under several of the grant programs, state and local government, and nonprofit entities are flow-through entities through which eligible  more...

Principal Diagnosis Selection: Ensure Compliance with Official Coding Guidelines BenefitsIn today's current health care business economic climate, there exists a renewed focus upon third-party payer initiatives to second guess and undermine medical record coder's selection of principal diagnosis selection under the guise of medical necessity and accurate and compliant coding. Under the RAC Demonstration Project, a pattern of supposed coding errors and medical necessity errors  more...

Labor Law: Could 2011 Be the Turning Point for Unions? BenefitsIt's been almost two full years of President Obama's administrative initiatives - a rollout of many campaign promises. Unions played a vital role in the 2008 elections and they continue to have a large voice in upcoming Congressional elections this fall. While most of the country has been focused on health care reform, 2011 could prove to be a pivotal year for union activity. What  more...

Health Care Reform Update BenefitsPresident Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law on March 23, 2010. This legislation will effectively restructure one-sixth of our economy and have a significant impact on our personal lives. Beyond the partisan politics and media hype are the practical concerns of employers, HR professionals, attorneys, third-party administrators, and other consultants and  more...

Business Associate Agreements After the HITECH Act BenefitsThe HITECH Act includes important, new and far-reaching provisions concerning the privacy and security of health information that will materially and directly affect more entities, businesses and individuals in more diverse ways than ever before. The HITECH Act now directly obligates business associates to comply with the HIPAA Security Rule's administrative, physical and technical  more...

IRS Form 8928: Health Plan Reporting and Excise Tax Update BenefitsEmployers who sponsor group health plans now have a duty to self-report certain regulatory plan failures and pay excise taxes where such failures are not corrected in a timely fashion once discovered, or are due to willful neglect. You need to know the Internal Revenue Code rules or risk expensive excise taxes for failure to comply with COBRA, HIPAA and other federal group health plan  more...

Administration of Pain Agents BenefitsYou will learn about using balanced analgesia with pharmacologic options for treating pain. This provides optimal analgesia and level of function for their patients. Discussion will include the importance of choosing the appropriate pain agent for the type of pain at the right dose. Learning Objectives - You will be able to discuss different types of pain medications. - You will be able  more...

Medical Records 101: Responding to Requests for Patient Information BenefitsRegister for this teleconference and get an overview of medical management issues faced by health care providers in responding to requests for patient information for litigation purposes. The conference speaker, who has extensive experience in civil litigation, including the representation of large medical institutions, will provide guidance in avoiding mistakes in disseminating patient  more...

Is Your Health Care Plan Grandfathered Under the Health Care Reform? ... to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve employee health and productivity. As plan sponsors consider design changes for 2011, they must also take into account new federal mandates under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as modified by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the 'Act'). The Act provides limited exceptions from the new  more...

Evaluating Your Third-Party Administrator: Are You Getting What You're Paying For? BenefitsUsing a third-party administrator is ubiquitous with health and welfare, and retirement plans. However, proper administration by TPAs should not be taken for granted. As with all facets of employee benefit plans, TPAs need to be monitored and evaluated to ensure proper plan administration and fulfillment of a plan sponsor's fiduciary responsibility. This teleconference explores the key  more...

Employee Driven Health Care: A Checklist for Employers BenefitsThis teleconference will include a comparison of HSA, HRA and FSAs. You will discover the value of Section 125 plans and recognize funding methods for various plans. Human resource managers, benefits and payroll professionals, controllers, CFOs, business owners and managers, insurance professionals and attorneys  more...

Medical Necessity - The Collaborative Partnership Approach BenefitsHospitals constantly struggle with reducing financial exposure due to noncompliance with medical necessity in the ordering and performing of diagnostic tests on both the inpatient and outpatient business environment. Current hospital business processes and medical staff mind-sets do not lend themselves and promote financial efficiencies in the performance and reimbursement of diagnostic  more...

Today's Legal Medical Record - A Hybrid Record BenefitsThe goal of this teleconference is to give you some information and a suggested format for developing your definition and policy of the legal health record for your institution. We'll remind ourselves what the real purpose of the medical record is and investigate how we meet those purposes with a hybrid record. We'll look at what the components of the legal medical record include versus  more...

Impact of Health Care Reform on Health Care Providers ...e health insurance coverage, recently enacted health care reform legislation also made sweeping changes to the Medicare payment and service delivery systems and strengthened current laws upon which the federal government relies to fight health care fraud, waste and abuse. This teleconference will include a broad overview of the aspects of health care reform legislation of most interest to  more...

Return on Investment for Wellness Programs BenefitsMounting evidence indicates that worksite wellness should be part of every strategic health plan. These plans can offer a valuable tool for employers to promote a fit and health-conscious work force that will save employers money by keeping health insurance premiums down, reducing workers' compensation costs, and by increasing productivity and decreasing lost time. Implementing a plan  more...

Insurance Claim Appeals BenefitsMany medical providers today are struggling at the number of claim denials and appeals that have to be performed to attempt to gain reimbursement from health care insurance providers, including Medicare and Medicaid. This teleconference will help you understand how first to establish when an appeal can be implemented, when to formally continue to disagree with their findings in writing  more...

Employee Safety and Health Systems: Cutting Injuries Using the Team Approach ...ill allow it to be. And although most managers care for the health and well being of their workers, they usually do not understand the proper way to manage the safety system. This teleconference will describe how to effectively manage the employee safety and health system. With proper installation and implementation of the system described in this teleconference, you will see a 40 to 50  more...

Recovery Audit Contractor Roll Out - What Can We Expect? BenefitsThe permanent Recovery Audit Contractor Program has rolled out in most regions and the RACs have posted new issues approved by CMS for review. This teleconference will review who, what and how providers can prepare for the reviews, the lessons learned and the appeal process, including CMS' recently issued recoupment time limits and interest assessment rules. Medical records directors,  more...

Criminal Liabilities Under HIPAA BenefitsMany hospitals, physician offices and other covered entities have been surprised to learn that HIPAA rules provide for criminal penalties - up to 10 years in prison for intentional violations! Now the stakes are higher and there are more stakeholders: recent stimulus legislation dramatically increased the stakes for HIPAA compliance by substantially increasing penalties for HIPAA  more...

Influenza: Seasonal to Pandemic BenefitsSeasonal influenza continues to be a regular challenge for health care and public health personnel. However, the events of April 2009 changed our perception of influenza when a novel Influenza A strain emerged and produced the first pandemic in almost 50 years. This teleconference will explore the changing influenza strains and the illnesses that result. You will come away enabled to  more...

Billing and Collecting for the Health Care Industry BenefitsDon't miss this billing and collecting teleconference presented by Neltner Billing Consulting Services, Inc. During the teleconference, we will present an overview of coding, billing and auditing for evaluation and management services. We will discuss common billing errors and practical methods for ensuring compliance. We will also share specific techniques for claims processing, payment  more...

Opt-Out Incentives and Other Cost Cutting Measures for Health Plans ...mployers have operated to reduce costs, the cost to provide health care is still high. An often overlooked method to reduce cost is to implement an opt out incentive. It is not uncommon for employees and dependents to be 'over covered'. But what if you gave employees with access to other coverage money to opt out of your coverage? Benefits and human resource managers, presidents, vice  more...

Understanding LEED for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance ...ies exist to reduce their energy waste, save money, improve health and productivity, and exploit new technologies that have recently become available to help the environment. Learning Objectives - You will be able to explain the U.S. Green Building Council LEED Existing Buildings Operations Maintenance (2009) rating and certification system. - You will be able to identify opportunities to  more...

Stark Act Update: Recent Changes and Operational Challenges BenefitsThe Stark Act is a very technical law that prohibits several common financial arrangements between physicians and entities to which they refer, including hospitals. If a physician has a financial arrangement with an entity that bills for or performs 'designated health services,' the financial arrangement will need to meet all components of an applicable exception. If the Stark Act is  more...

Construction Contract Bid Errors BenefitsThe pressures on contractors to obtain work have never been greater. The competition for contracts, often coupled with precarious financial health, leaves very little margin for error - yet bid mistakes are on the increase with adverse consequences for owners, contractors and subcontractors. This teleconference analyzes the legal consequences of bid errors and how to avoid them. Those who  more...

Workplace Accident Investigations for the HR Professional BenefitsAttend this teleconference and learn how to conduct a workplace accident investigation as well as how to conduct an effective investigation and protect the company's interests. Many written investigative reports are used against the company because they are too conclusory or did not have sufficient information, and should have included certain language for risk management purposes. Learn  more...

Limited Medical Programs: How Employers Are Using Them to Control Health Care Costs BenefitsAfter years of increasing medical premiums, employers are hitting road blocks in cost saving measures. We are at a point of office visit co-pays approaching $50, prescription drug co-pays of $50 to $100, deductibles exceeding $2,000 for in-network benefits, and more and more premium cost shifting from employer to employee. Employee's are finding it hard to afford the per pay premiums and  more...

Implications of the Stimulus Package on HIPAA BenefitsThe American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes substantial changes to requirements for the protection of health information privacy and security under HIPAA, some of which are already in effect. New requirements for business associates of HIPAA covered entities and requirements to notify individuals in the event of a breach are only two of the many areas affected in the new law,  more...

Health Insurance Basics For Employers ...basics of health insurance. This includes people new to the health insurance industry or new to interacting with the industry. It also includes people who have been in or interacting with the insurance industry for a while but never received adequate training. Attend this teleconference and come away with an understanding of the basics of health insurance for employers in the United States. An  more...

Making Revisions to Closed Medical Records ...nces, and at whose request? This teleconference will enable health information professionals to know how to respond to requests to revise closed records, to know what is required for individual rights under HIPAA, and to know what belongs in any organization's procedures for revising closed medical records. You will also learn about issues pertaining to electronic records and revisions,  more...

Conducting Effective Safety Audits BenefitsAudits are a key component of an effective safety program. Just as periodic physicals can help you check how healthy you are, periodic safety audits can help evaluate the health of your safety program. This teleconference will outline the four steps you should consider in order to conduct effective safety audits. Manufacturing engineers, presidents, vice presidents, plant managers,  more...

Medical Identity Theft: Why You Must Prevent and How to Minimize Its Occurrence BenefitsMore and more patient information is being captured electronically, both within the provider setting and remotely from the patients themselves. Additionally, an increasing number of myriad touches of this data occur on a daily basis by various known and unknown entities, not all of whom are authorized or have a specific need to know. In this environment, ample opportunity exists for  more...

15- Minute Expert Adult Patient Assessments: Practical Strategies, Tips, and Updates for Health Care Professionals BenefitsEverything seems to move faster these days and patient care is no exception. The patient's clinical acuities and complexities are increasing and the amount of available time to be hands-on with each patient seems to be decreasing. That is why every health care professional needs to be proficient in assessment skills. This teleconference, '15-Minute Expert Adult Patient Assessments:  more...

Health Care Facility Design and Development BenefitsDeveloping or expanding a health care facility is particularly challenging in the modern economic and regulatory environment. Health care administrators are looking for project delivery models that ensure excellence in planning and delivery. Incorporating thought leadership in design, operational efficiency and sustainability, as well as efficient project delivery are important  more...

Implementing a Health Risk Assessment for Your Health Plan: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Legal ...p control health care costs?,' 'What makes for an effective health risk assessment?,' 'How do I get employees to participate?,' 'What should I look for in a vendor?' and 'Aren't there a lot of legal issues with gathering health information about employees?' This teleconference will allow you to begin the process of implementing a health risk assessment as part of your company health plan or  more...

Managing Benefit Options for Part-Time Employees BenefitsAs the U.S. economy recovers and restructures, many employers find themselves employing more of their workforce on a part time basis. Additionally, in hard to recruit fields such as health care, or with entry level employers such as retailers, part-time employment is the norm and may account for more than 50% of the workforce. Employers struggle with how to design a program that will  more...

Dealing with Difficult Patients ...ed service. Difficult patients cannot be avoided; therefore health care institutions must have clear strategies for responding to difficult patients to minimize the inherent adverse impact. This teleconference will review best-practices of leading health care institutions and identify specific approaches to manage the outcomes of most types of conflicts in a variety of health care settings.  more...

Changes of Status Checklist BenefitsIf you are an employer who sponsors a cafeteria plan or other health and welfare plans, it can be confusing to administer your plan when an employee has a change in status. This teleconference will assist you in determining when you can allow an employee to change their election under your cafeteria plan. It will also cover what happens when an individual has a change in status while on  more...

Healthcare Self-Disclosure Update BenefitsThe program will review these and other key questions: - What options do health care providers have for voluntary disclosure? - What factors should health care providers consider when determining whether a potential violation should be reported? - How have these been changed by health care reform legislation and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act? - How does the position of CMS alter  more...

Can Medical Tourism Lower Your Healthcare Costs? BenefitsThis teleconference will address a myriad of legal issues associated with persons traveling abroad for their medical care. Medical travel, or medical tourism, has become a major focus of interest as a potential means for helping to mitigate the high cost of health care in the United States. It is no longer really about tourism but substantially more about the nature of medical care that  more...

Valid Consents ...obtaining an affirmative decision, it is important that the health care practitioner obtain informed consent. This teleconference will educate you on how to determine whether a patient is capable of giving informed consent. This teleconference also explains who may give informed consent on behalf of the patient if the patient is incapable of doing so. In addition to informed consent for medical  more...

Medical Professionals and Social Media: Privacy and Security Issues ...e and more new physicians and other professionals enter the health care workplace, they are bringing with them the tools and technologies that they feel helps them do their job better, including the greater use of cell phones, texting, twittering, blogging, and using Web sites like Facebook and LinkedIn . But using these devices and technologies can carry significant risks of privacy violations  more...

Health Information Exchange: The Impact of the Stimulus Code ...ebruary of 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act known more commonly as the Stimulus Act. The legislation for a large part included tremendous new legislation, but brings to the forefront, the first time in history, incentives for American doctors to revamp their paper charts to electronic health records  more...

Scope, Extent and Effect of EPA's New "All Appropriate Inquiry Standard" for Environmental Due Diligence BenefitsThis teleconference will explain who is affected by the EPA final rule, when all appropriate inquiries must be conducted or updated, and what specific activities the final rule requires. You will hear from one of the leading experts on CERCLA, brownfields and lender liability on the EPA's all appropriate inquiries final rule. Learning Objectives - You will be able to define all  more...

Return-to-Work Compliance When Jobs Are Gone BenefitsThe last couple of years have been financially difficult for employers and employees. Many organizations have undergone one or more phases of reductions-in-force, as well as restructuring and creative solutions such as reduced work hours or pay. What can such organizations legally do when employees on a leave of absence want to return to such a changed workplace? This teleconference will  more...

Suicidology: Your Responsibilities for Protecting Your Clients and the Public BenefitsThe assessment of suicidality is among the most important functions exercised by mental health professionals. The imperative of keeping the client safe constitutes not only the most important initial clinical objective, but is at the core of good risk management. Research continues to help clinicians predict suicidal behavior in the individual with increasing accuracy. However, there is no  more...

Avoiding Reinjuries in Workers' Compensation Claimants BenefitsHave you ever had an employee return to work from a work related or non-work related injury, only to reinjure themselves? In this teleconference you will learn how to identify the potential factors for reinjury and what you can do to reduce the overall risk. Additionally, you will learn skills to help you interact more effectively with engineers, production managers, supervisors/foremen,  more...

Managing External Health Information BenefitsMany health care providers remain frustrated and uncertain about how to handle external health information. This information may come in the form of unsolicited health information - i.e., information that is volunteered by patients or by other health care providers, either at the time the patient arrives for treatment or thereafter - and in some cases even after the patient has been  more...

Infection Control Programs ... associated infections have moved into the forefront of the health care industry due to emerging and re-emerging issues, the human toll and reimbursement challenges. Central to this problem is the impact of the infection preventionist and the infection prevention function. This teleconference will help identify specific elements of an effective infection prevention program and promote the  more...

Controlling Health Care Costs With Self-Funded Plan Options BenefitsThis teleconference will address questions an employer must answer when deciding to switch from a fully insured health plan arrangement to a self-insured arrangement. The speaker will cover different self-insured health plan options, for example, preferred provider, HMO, health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements. The importance of choosing a third-party administrator  more...

Introduction to New ICD-10 Coding: Preparing for Implementation nThe International Classification of Disease and Operations, Ninth Edition has out-lived its usefulness for capturing morbidity and mortality amongst the world population. Most developed nations transitioned to ICD-10 several years ago, but because of the tie of ICD-9-CM to payments in the United States there have been a series of delays in the US implementation. As the US moves a lightening speed  more...

Benchmarking your Health Benefit Program: How Do You Stack Up? nInformation is power. You can increase your competitiveness by knowing the kinds and the quality of health insurance other employers are offering. Measuring your health plan against meaningful benchmarks will help fuel your strategies not only for reducing cost, but also for recruiting, employee retention and health plan design. n nThis teleconference will work through several methods to  more...

Staying Compliant with the Medicare Incident-To Rules nAt a time when every medical practice dollar counts, the Medicare incident-to billing rules can enable physicians to capture revenue from common services performed by office staff. The incident-to rules, while simple on their face, can be complex in their application and failing to follow each element of the rules can result in overpayments and even false claims liability. Knowing the rules and  more...

Smoking Discrimination in the Workplace: On and Off the Clock ...e health insurance claims and are absent more frequently than nonsmokers, a growing number of employers have implemented programs to minimize the number of smokers in its workforce. These employer programs range from offering quit smoking programs to refusing to hire smokers and even terminating smokers. Privacy advocates argue an employer's interest in the smoking habits of applicants and  more...

Presenteeism: Measurement and Intervention Issues for Employers and Health Plans nProductivity is fast becoming an even more vital issue to the business world. Presenteeism, or work loss due to underlying health conditions when individuals remain at work, is one important facet of productivity. One study found that approximately 6 percent of a global company's total compensation (salaries, wages and all benefit costs) were lost due to presenteeism. Work site wellness programs  more...

Demand-Side Water Conservation Initiatives ...circumstances are impacting businesses, homeowners, and the health and security of our modern existence. Brown and Caldwell is helping utilities, government agencies and private companies nationwide develop effective solutions to manage increasing water demands with dwindling water resources. Our team has a proven track record in water conservation and drought preparedness evaluation and  more...

Patients' Rights Update nHealth care providers, particularly long term care providers, mental health providers and hospices, have become increasingly aware of patients' rights concerns in recent years. Many states have passed bills of rights for their residents living in mental health, skilled nursed or other health care facilities. These bills of rights cover basic and not so basic concerns. From the right to be treated  more...

The New HIPAA Special Enrollment Rules and Related Disclosure Issues nRecently enacted legislation expands the special enrollment rights currently applicable to group health plans and imposes new notice and disclosure obligations for employers that maintain such plans. While many of these obligations are not effective until after 2009, the special enrollment changes are effective April 1, 2009. In addition, the new law imposes civil penalties of up to $100 a day  more...

Managed Care Contracting and Fee Schedule Review nMany practice administrators are charged with the task of negotiating managed care contracts for their practices. This responsibility is generally an inherited function from their predecessor. Most do not understand how to compute an equitable fee schedule or track contract performance. This teleconference will help you understand methods for tracking to performance and how first to establish a  more...

Client Rights Issues: Informed Consent and Confidentiality nBoth state and federal laws contain myriad requirements intended to protect client rights. Most importantly are those that relate to rights regarding providing informed consent and privacy of health information. However, many health care providers do not understand the complex intersections of regulatory and common law requirements for obtaining consent and protecting client privacy. Failure to  more...

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in Children nExposure to substantial amounts of alcohol during pregnancy is known to produce a wide spectrum of morphological and behavioral outcomes. The most affected children in the spectrum display a characteristic pattern of morphological anomalies known as fetal alcohol syndrome. The majority of children exposed to alcohol, however, do not display morphological anomalies, yet they may show significant  more...

Using Medical Certifications to Minimize Employer Liability: FMLA, ADA and Workers' Comp ...ion statutes. But the legal landscape for managing employee health issues has had many changes in recent months. Amendments to the ADA took effect January 1, 2009. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act also takes effect in 2009. Employers are subject to new regulations under HIPAA for their wellness programs, and new FMLA regulations are pending. Despite this rapid change, the  more...

Understanding the COBRA Alternative Coverage Rules ...COBRA purposes, the company is allowed to offer alternative health coverage although the procedure for doing so is quite complicated. n nDiscussed first is what constitutes the various forms of alternative health coverage, how it applies and in what circumstances. Secondly is a discussion of what procedures must be followed in order to offer alternative coverage under COBRA. There are numerous  more...

Occupational Noise Induced Hearing Loss nThis teleconference will bring you up to speed on issues related to hazardous occupational noise. Understand the intricacies of the effects noise exposure have on hearing. Get a handle on complicated issues surrounding the calculation of hearing impairment. Avoid problems down the road by getting to know state-specific workers' compensation issues. You'll gain the practical insight you need to  more...