There are 16 provisions of the ObamaCare that are slated to take effect on January 1, 2014 (Kff.org, 2013). Only 15, however will get implemented as President Obama postponed the implementation of the Employer Requirements until 2015. The employer requirement is just one of the major provisions of the health care law. Other 2014 major […]
HIPAA and EHRs The Congress of the United States passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996, which sets the national standard for electronic transfer of health data. It led to the subsequent implementation of the Privacy Rule in 2003 and the Security Rule in 2005. Both rules were enacted to protect […]
Last year Obamacare cleared a big hurdle when the Supreme Court ruled that a healthcare “tax” is constitutional. However, the Affordable Care Act has run into quicksand after the Obama Administration postponed the employer mandate to 2015. Employers who don’t provide health insurance will be spared penalties of up to $3,000 per worker until 2015, […]
Privacy, confidentiality, and security have always been a concern whenever electronic transmission of patients data are involved The definition of privacy was explicitly explained by Justices of the Supreme Court Warren and Brandeis (1890) as the “right to be let alone,” entailing that the “the foundation of individual freedom in modern age is the protection […]
The first ever paper medical record was the brainchild of none other than Hippocrates in the fifth century B.C. Accordingly, a medical record must achieved two goals: one, the medical record must be precise and accurate to indicate the progression of the disease process; and two, the medical record must reflect the symptoms, the probable […]
What are ACOs? A new buzzword in health care is ACOs, which is actually an acronym for Accountable Care Organizations. It is one of the pilot programs in the new health care law that is administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) [aha.org, 2012]. ACOs are network of physicians and hospitals agreeing […]
Total Quality Management (TQM) Total Quality Management (TQM) may have been the first quality oriented philosophy to transition into healthcare. TQM is based on three principles: continuous quality improvement (CQI), customer focus, and teamwork. To date, limited research attention has been given to challenges involved in adopting such practices to healthcare. Despite the enthusiasm raised […]
Nurse aides, home health aides, and personal-and-home-care aides are classified as direct care workers. Direct-care workers are paraprofessionals who are trained to assist the elderly and the disabled with assisted daily living (ADL) such as grooming, bathing, and eating. They are the backbone of the long-term delivery care system (Weiner, Anderson, Khatustsky, & Squillace, 2009). […]