A recent Office for Civil Rights (OCR) settlement that fixes responsibility for a HIPAA breach on a business associate underlines the importance of making sure you have proper, current and well-managed business associate agreements (BAAs) for every relevant vendor.

You may be able to forget the full-year reporting requirement for meaningful use this year if a proposed rule issued July 6 becomes final.

If you want to continue the longstanding tradition of doctors treating doctors for free, be prepared to spend big on it — or don’t do it at all.

A new proposed rule from HHS attempts to clear some deadwood from the third and fourth level of Medicare appeals and reduce the absurd backlog at those levels.

Question: I’m being told by the hospital that the resident does not always need to write a note and that our teaching physician may independently examine the patient, then “discuss” his visit with the residents. To me the GC modifier relays to Medicare that the resident is actively involved in the care of the patient, not just an observer. Is this correct?

Nearly 200 provider groups will see an additional revenue opportunity though the Oncology Care Model, according to a CMS update.

Generally, new patient E/M claims are a problem for providers. But, according to the most recent available data, 99201-99205 denials have been relatively calm overall between 2011 and 2014 — except for 99201, historically a tough sell and apparently not getting any easier. One major exception: Some non-physician practitioners (NPPs).