Health Telephone Seminars - Training Resources

Implementing a Health Risk Assessment for Your Health Plan: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Legal ...health risk assessments and wonder if they're a good idea for your organization. Or you've been tasked with implementing a health risk assessment as part of your health plan and don't know much about them. You have a lot of questions such as 'How can a health risk assessment help control health care costs?,' 'What makes for an effective health risk assessment?,' 'How do I get employees to  more...

Best Practices in Nursing Documentation: Writing Effective and Legal Proof Notes ...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 nurses' notes. Electronic records are a reality  more...

Health Care Facility Design and Development ...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 differentiators for project teams. This  more...

Insurance Claim Appeals ...ave 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 and what options are available to continue fighting these appeals. The teleconference will explain  more...

Powers of Attorney: Medical Records Release Concerns ...Busy 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...

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...

Medical Records Releases, Retention and Confidentiality Requirements ...health plans, vendors, etc.) who retain medical or health records are often subjected to complex and conflicting requirements to maintain the confidentiality and restrict the disclosure of the information. Complex and overlapping rules and regulations impose rigid requirements that must be met before information is released, and require medical record repositories to retain the records for  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...

HR Time Lines: The Complex Integration of FMLA, WC, Disability and COBRA ...hat can run together? What cannot? When can we cancel the health plan, for what reason and is it a COBRA qualifying event? 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 actions are in compliance with all  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 teleconference and gain critical information on  more...

Stark Act Update: Recent Changes and Operational Challenges ...ent 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 implicated and all components of an applicable exception are not met, the physician cannot refer to an entity that he or she has a financial relationship with and the entity cannot bill for designated health  more...

Implications of the Stimulus Package on HIPAA ...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, including new requirements for restricting and accounting of  more...

Complying With OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements ...Health Administration plans to get tough on workplace safety enforcement. OSHA has received more than $50 million in additional funding, plans to hire between 130 and 160 new inspectors, has suspended certain voluntary compliance programs in order to free up resources for enforcement efforts, and has introduced a new program, the Severe Violators Inspection Program, designed to ensure that  more...

Strategies to Reduce Bullying and Social Aggression ...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 bullying prevention or school  more...

Understanding Your Summary Plan Descriptions ...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 important information regarding the plan,  more...

Construction Contract Bid Errors ...on 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 conduct the procurement of construction services, those who seek the award of  more...

15- Minute Expert Adult Patient Assessments: Practical Strategies, Tips, and Updates for Health Care Professionals ...th 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: Practical Strategies, Tips and Updates for Health Care Professionals,' will help you identify practical strategies for completing an exam that efficiently evaluates your patient from head to toe,  more...

Today's Legal Medical Record - A Hybrid Record ...at 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 those items that are not included. We'll also look at how we transition our forms or  more...

Opt-Out Incentives and Other Cost Cutting Measures for Health Plans ...health care reform has highlighted for the public what employers have known for years - health care is expensive. Employers have for years looked for creative ways to alleviate double digit annual increases in the cost of health coverage provided to its employees. Employers have toggled deductibles and co-payments, and they have implemented wellness programs and consumer driven health care  more...

Determining Meaningful Use for Electronic Health Records ...d nearly $20 billion in direct funding and incentives for health care providers to implement health information technology provided they demonstrate 'meaningful use' of a 'certified' electronic health record. This teleconference is intended to provide you with a timely update on the federal government's requirements for 'meaningful use' for eligibility for stimulus funding. Topics will  more...

Employee Safety and Health Systems: Cutting Injuries Using the Team Approach ...by the individual responsible for the facility safety and health system. The problem is that the success of the committee, and thus the system success, is predicated by the authority given to the committee and its leadership which in most cases is low to nonexistent. The bottom line is that employee safety will be as good as management wants it to be or as poor as management will allow it to  more...

Preparing for Medicaid Audits ...pared? The Medicaid program is a state's most significant health care expense and, in many 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. Those states are now looking toward Medicaid providers to make up the shortfall  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...

Wellness Programs: Legal Developments, Requirements and Risks ...enefitsAs Congress looks at making significant changes to health insurance, wellness programs are playing a central role in the debate. Congress wants to encourage wellness programs and healthy lifestyles to help control the cost of health insurance and much of their interest is based on success stories from the private sector. But privacy advocates and some federal regulators take the position  more...

Influenza: Seasonal to Pandemic ...easonal 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 better  more...

Legal Issues Surrounding the Utilization and Maintenance of Computerized Medical Records ...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 and ongoing use of EHRs is expensive and raises many  more...

Health Care Reform: Implications for Employers, Insurers, and Individuals ...Health care reform could have a more significant impact on the United States economy and on our personal lives than any federal legislation in the past 100 years. Beyond the partisan politics and media hype are the practical concerns of employers, HR professionals, attorneys, third-party administrators, and other consultants and professionals who work with group health plans and related  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...

Conducting Effective Safety Audits ...rogram. 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, quality control personnel, operation managers, facility  more...

Workers' Compensation Metrics: Assessing and Reporting on the Success of Your Program BenefitsIn today's economy, it is especially critical to be able to assess the success of your workers' compensation program and provide meaningful reports to the C-Suite. In this teleconference, you will learn about the key metrics that can be used, where the data for these metrics may be found, sources of benchmarking information and how to most effectively present your success story to  more...

Medical Records 101: Responding to Requests for Patient Information ...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 information. You'll find out what you  more...

Making Revisions to Closed Medical Records ...es, 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, including  more...

Managing External Health Information ...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 discharged. It  more...

Infection Control Programs ...Health care 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  more...

Effective Auditing of Physicians' Notes BenefitsPhysician documentation and subsequent charge capture of physician services is becoming more complex and scrutinized than ever before. Join us for this teleconference during which we will teach you how to audit physician notes from your own practice. We will cover all aspects of coding for evaluation and management services, and the appropriate documentation of these services. We will  more...

Controlling Health Care Costs With Self-Funded Plan Options ... 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 based on factors beyond just the per person administrative  more...

Managing Employees' Pre-Existing Conditions: Strategies for Reducing Injury Losses ... 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. Learn resources and strategies for managing  more...

Introduction to New ICD-10 Coding: Preparing for Implementation ... As the US moves a lightening speed towards an electronic health record, there has been a renewed emphasis on transition since ICD-9-CM is not compatible with a true electronic health record. In January 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services published a Final Rule for the adoption of ICD-10 effective October 1, 2013. While this seems like a significant time period in order to get  more...

Benchmarking your Health Benefit Program: How Do You Stack Up? ...r 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 evaluate your health benefit program's cost,  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 ...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 ...iness 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 can potentially make many important contributions to the  more...

Demand-Side Water Conservation Initiatives ...rcumstances 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...

Why Is This Guy Still on My Health Plan? ...bility or other leave of absence) lingering on employer's health and other benefit plans (dental, group life) where the employer continues to pay premiums despite the employee being no longer eligible under the plan. This teleconference will discuss the relevant legal pitfalls, including FMLA notice failure, COBRA notice failure, conversion coverage notice failure, covering people (employees  more...

Patients' Rights Update ...Health 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  more...

Understanding LEED. for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance ...s 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. This teleconference is totally independent and not funded by any building product manufacturer. Your speaker is not currently retained by major corporations or trade associations in the green building industry. n nThis  more...

The New HIPAA Special Enrollment Rules and Related Disclosure Issues ...e 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 for failure to comply with the new  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 ...ights 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 properly comply with these legal requirements can result in regulatory sanctions as well as liability for health care providers. This  more...

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in Children ..., including school failures, trouble with the law, mental health problems and dependent living. Therefore, it is important that children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are identified early and receive early interventions. This teleconference will provide a brief introduction to diagnostic and neuropsychological aspects of fetal alcohol syndrome. You'll also get suggestions for  more...

Criminal Liabilities Under HIPAA-Who Knew You Could Go to Prison? ...es - up to 10 years in prison for intentional violations! Health plans, health care clearinghouses, health care providers and Medicare prescription drug card sponsors may be prosecuted criminally for HIPAA violations. n nWith ID theft on the rise, prosecutors are becoming more aggressive in enforcing HIPAA laws, particularly when intent to illegally obtain patient information is involved. In  more...

Using Medical Certifications to Minimize Employer Liability: FMLA, ADA and Workers' Comp ...n 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 principles  more...

Medical Privacy Rights of Minors ...roviders and others who come into contact with medical or health records are often subjected to complex and conflicting requirements to maintain the confidentiality and restrict the use of the information. When those providers and others deal with minors, the complexity increases dramatically. When the right of an individual to privacy and security with regard to his or her medical information  more...

Understanding the COBRA Alternative Coverage Rules ... done to reduce costs. In lieu of a company's traditional health plan, for 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  more...

Return on Investment for Wellness Programs ... 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 takes time, attention and deserves a  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...