Practice Sense Blog

Your patients trust you to securely handle their sensitive medical information. When it comes to digital security, there are no shortcuts that a dental practice can take. In fact, multiple layers of security are better protection for your medical records against hackers.

But, knowing how to beef up your security measurements takes technical know-how. We'll start you on that path to understand...

Asking patients to fill out online patient forms, including patient registration forms and intake forms, may not seem like a big deal. In reality, any form of online health information, even information that may seem insignificant, falls under the guidelines and requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule. As a result, you need to understand what the rule actually says and its implications or...

Since 2003, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has been charged with enforcing the privacy and security rules for electronic health records, such as electronic consent forms. The true scope of fines and penalties for HIPAA violations often goes unnoticed. As technology becomes an integral part of healthcare, practices need to consider how a breach...

From BlueCross BlueShield to Medicaid, the threat of a cyber security breach seems omnipresent and omnipotent.  Earlier this month, the Washington State Health Care Authority identified a breach of the protected health information (PHI) of more than 91,000 patients. Practices are clamoring for reassurance of how an electronic patient forms’ provider prevents these breaches. Fortunately, Practice...

The Privacy Rule within the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides provisions for how health care practitioners and practices use, store, and release protected health information (PHI). However, PHI does not necessarily mean the information can never be released, nor does it imply all information within a patient’s chart is defined as protected health information...

With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, asserts the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), eligible professionals, which include the physician, physician's assistant, and staff, have benefited from the electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs. However, the penalty for foregoing the implementation of an EHR, which directly relates to online patient...

Obtaining and verifying new patient personal, medical, and insurance information in an accurate and timely manner is a vital component to managing a successful dental practice. With incorrect personal information, you may be unable to contact a patient to schedule follow-up visits. Without proper medical information, treatment may be delayed or even compromised. And with the wrong insurance...

During our short existence, we have learned that many offices use email to transmit patient records. Some offices communicate with patients via email while others share patient information with other doctors offices.