Practice Management Publications

As every patient visit concludes with a documented office visit encounter, the visit note should include when the patient is advised to return. It is important for the physician to document when a patient should return to the office and for what purpose.

Many physicians have migrated to the electronic record in the in-patient and out-patient setting. Physicians routinely use electronic and digital signatures in lieu of a hand written signature. Electronic submission necessitates security measures to verify and authenticate the physician’s identity.

CAP's Risk Management and Patient Safety Department offers the following guidelines to help physicians who are retiring or otherwise closing or selling their practice, or for those handling the estate of a deceased physician.

So far this year, business associate breaches account for roughly 12 percent of the total breaches reported to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), or 27 of the 233 reported breaches as of September 19. What does this mean to a covered entity? It means that it’s not enough to require a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA). Vendors should be diligently vetted.

We wanted to inform you that Risk E-Notes is being replaced by a new monthly digest, Patient Safety Advocate. As you know, Risk E Notes is a bimonthly email newsletter published by CAP’s Risk Management and Patient Safety Newsletter. Risk E-Notes has been written for independent physicians and their office staff. We know how busy you are and we know how difficult it is to keep up with the latest risk management news and trends.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has certified California’s Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES). Effective October 2, 2018, it will become mandatory for all health care practitioners to consult and review the CURES 2.0 system prior to prescribing, ordering, administering, or furnishing a Schedule II-IV controlled substance.

Effective July 1, 2018, Senate Bill 97 creates a mandatory requirement that a health provider that diagnoses or provides treatment to a patient with Parkinson's disease must report each case of Parkinson’s disease to the California Department of Public Health.

In part 1 of our article for Healthcare Risk Management (HRM), we outlined the issues of informed consent and informed refusals and what steps to take to protect your practice. In part 2 of our article, CAP’s Risk Management and Patient Safety Department will list the strategies and safeguards to have in place when working with advanced healthcare professionals.

Healthcare Risk Management (HRM) week starts June 18, 2018. In preparation for the week, it is important to understand the role risk management plays in creating a safe and protected physician-patient relationship.

CAP is pleased to offer members compliance training through Evolve e-Learning Solutions. This platform offer members an easy to use, interactive online training system. This allows physician practices and their staff to receive quality training at the fraction of the cost of classroom training.