Outbreaks of Hepatitis B continue to be a problem in long-term care facilities and ambulatory care centers. Outbreak investigations in long-term care settings have found person to person transmission associated with inappropriate blood glucose monitoring practices. Of particular concern is the fact... more...
On January 1, 2009 California implemented strict new laws to safeguard patient medical information. These new laws hold both entities and individuals accountable for maintaining the confidentiality of patient medical information. Under the new California laws, health facilities must prevent... more...
Senate Bill 158 became effective on January 1, 2009. It requires that each facility develop hand hygiene programs and establish patient safety plans. The safety plans must include: 1) A patient safety committee; 2) A reporting system for patient safety events; 3) A process for facility staff to conduct thorough analyses including... more...
On January 1, 2009 California implemented strict new laws to safeguard patient medical information. These new laws hold both entities and individuals accountable for maintaining the confidentiality of patient medical information. Under the new California laws, health facilities must prevent unlawful or unauthorized access to, or use or disclosure of patient medical information. As defined in the new law,... more...
Prior to 1970, hospitals regularly and routinely cultured air and environmental surfaces for microbial contamination. By 1970, both the CDC and the American Hospital Association were discouraging this practice. The 2003 CDC Guidelines for Environmental Control in Healthcare Facilities and the CDC Guidelines for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings 2007, do not recommend... more...
Medicare and Private insurance companies are now becoming stricter in their coding regulations. If the diagnosis does not meet the requirement of the patient's necessity, the Private insurance or Medicare will not cover laboratory expenses. If the Medicare patients have signed an ABN, the patient will then be responsible for payment... more...
The CPT coding update effective January 1, 2005, adds 19 new codes to the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Section (80000 series), including 11 payable under the Medicare Part B lab fee schedule and eight payable under the physician fee schedule. Revisions to existing codes... more...
s the standard, electronic claim formats (835i and 835p) have been implemented, it should come as no surprise that CMS has turned its attention to standardizing the data submitted in the electronic formats. One of the standardized data initiatives is to eliminate the current provider numbers, PIN's and UPIN's, and require... more...
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is currently drafting a fundamental change in the guidelines for testing health care workers for Tuberculosis (TB). The present CDC guidelines for such testing have been on the books since 1994, thus, these revisions are worth significant attention! The revision addresses... more...
Starting January 1, 2007, Medicare will waive the annual Part B deductible for certain colorectal cancer screening procedures covered under the program's preventive services package. The waiver implements a requirement in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services... more...
Currently, Medicare makes coverage decisions for genetic tests and services via a mix of national and local contractor policies. While this is reasonable the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society (SACGHS) says, it has some drawbacks. One remedy, the panel notes, is to encourage CMS to move ahead... more...
In it's zeal to catch providers who keep resubmitting claims until they find an ICD-9 diagnosis code that pays, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is placing the burden on Clinical Laboratories to acquire an ABN when the diagnosis... more...
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