Having members of your care team “shadow” a patient through the process of receiving care can help identify ways to improve the patient experience and increase efficiency.

If your office creates, maintains, receives or transmits electronic protected health information (e-PHI), you are a covered entity and a risk analysis is a mandatory step towards HIPAA compliance. Further, for those offices attempting to meet Meaningful Use requirements, a risk analysis is also required for Meaningful Use compliance.

This article examins some of the important features of a patient portal and the security features necessary to protect patient information. It also reviews what meaningful use criteria is as it is set forth by CMS.

Health care workers face an increased risk of work-related assaults stemming from several factors. The risk of assault can be minimized or prevented if employers take appropriate precautions.

According to the CDC, each year between 5 percent and 20 percent of the U.S. population will contract the flu and many patients will seek medical care in ambulatory health care settings. Although health care-associated flu infections can occur in any healthcare setting where patients are seeking care, these patients commonly show up in physician practices where the flu is also circulating in the community. (Requires registration for free account)