HHS releases security risk assessment tool to help providers with HIPAA compliance

security risk assessment tool to help providers with HIPAA compliance:



A new security risk assessment (SRA) tool to help guide health care

providers in small to medium sized offices conduct risk assessments of

their organizations is now available from HHS.





The SRA tool is the result of a collaborative effort by the HHS Office of the National

Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and Office for Civil

Rights (OCR). The tool is designed to help practices conduct and

document a risk assessment in a thorough, organized fashion at their own

pace by allowing them to assess the information security risks in their

organizations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability

Act (HIPAA) Security Rule.





The application, available for downloading

at www.HealthIT.gov/security-risk-assessment also produces a report that can be provided to auditors.



HIPAA requires organizations that handle protected health information to

regularly review the administrative, physical and technical safeguards

they have in place to protect the security of the information. By

conducting these risk assessments, health care providers can uncover

potential weaknesses in their security policies, processes and systems.

Risk assessments also help providers address vulnerabilities,

potentially preventing health data breaches or other adverse security

events. A vigorous risk assessment process supports improved security of

patient health data.



Conducting a security risk assessment is a

key requirement of the HIPAA Security Rule and a core requirement for

providers seeking payment through the Medicare and Medicaid EHR

Incentive Program, commonly known as the Meaningful Use Program.



“Protecting patients’ protected health information is important to all health care

providers and the new tool we are releasing today will help them assess

the security of their organizations,” said Karen DeSalvo, M.D., national

coordinator for health information technology. “The SRA tool and its

additional resources have been designed to help health care providers

conduct a risk assessment to support better security for patient health

data.”





“We are pleased to have collaborated with the ONC on this

project,” said Susan McAndrew, deputy director of OCR’s Division of

Health Information Privacy. “We believe this tool will greatly assist

providers in performing a risk assessment to meet their obligations

under the HIPAA Security Rule.”



The SRA tool’s website contains a User Guide and Tutorial video to help providers begin using

the tool. Videos on risk analysis and contingency planning are available

at the website to provide further context.



The tool is available for both Windows operating systems and iOS iPads. Download the Windows version at http://www.HealthIT.gov/security-risk-assessment. The iOS iPad version is available from the Apple App Store (search under “HHS SRA tool”).



HHS releases security risk assessment tool to help providers with HIPAA compliance:

Dementia-Toolkit-960.jpg (JPEG Image, 960 × 5222 pixels)

Dementia-Toolkit-960.jpg (JPEG Image, 960 × 5222 pixels)

If You Don't Listen to Others, Don't Read This | LinkedIn

{adapted on a post on Linkedin by Bruce Kasanoff offering advice to entrepreneurs}



Do not formulate your answer while the other person is talking.



People who don't listen decide how they are going to respond before you even stop talking. ........



Don't be afraid to pause for five or ten seconds to consider the question. Doing so demonstrates that you listened carefully and that you are giving them the courtesy of a thoughtful reply.



If you actually give a thoughtful reply, no one will remember that it took you nine seconds to start talking.



 Repeat each question before you answer it.



Never make the mistake of taking five minutes of time answering a question s/he did not ask. First, paraphrase the question by saying,



"If I understand you correctly, you want to know (how we are going to ...........) Is that right?"



If necessary,



allow the other person to clarify their question. Only start your answer



when you are 100% certain you understand the question.



It may seem like a waste of time to do this, but you will be demonstrating your ability to obtain and understand feedback.

What is health care transparency

What is health care transparency?

{Q}There is no correlation between cost and quality. Prices for medical services can vary greatly - even for the same procedure, in the same area, within the same network.{EQ}

cloud-based software helps employers gain control over health care spending.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1769895 Until very recently, health care in the United States was delivered behind the secure walls of a fortress that kept information on the prices charged for health care and the quality of that care opaque from public view.

Over time, enormous and ever-increasing amounts of money have disappeared behind the fortress walls. Much good undoubtedly was done for patients entering the castle in search of succor. 

But it has been nearly impossible for prospective patients thinking of entering the health care system to know what they or someone else will have to give up in return for whatever care they will receive from the inhabitants of the fortress.
 in a recent article in The Journal of the American Medical Association, imagine a department store whose customers are blindfolded before entering. A shopper might enter the store seeking to buy an affordable dress shirt and a tie, but exit it with a pair of boxer shorts and a scarf. Sometime later, he would receive an invoice, whose details would be incomprehensible to him, save for one item: a dollar amount in a framed box with the words: “Pay this amount.”


http://tinyurl.com/kuzfyok {Forbes} {Q} Mr. Sonenreich is quoted from an appearance on public radio affiliate WRLN with this provocative commitment:

“We’d be willing to put our prices to all the insurance companies out in public and we would welcome that kind of transparency of everyone in the marketplace.”

He’s not talking about “chargemaster” rates here. These are the contractual rates that the hospital has negotiated with the insurance companies.{EQ} know, the secret ones. Here’s    commitment. I’ll publish (or link to) those rates when they do become public.{EQ}

When Alzheimer’s Hits Home: Six Ways to Help Kids and Teens By Carrie Steckl (a.k.a. Dr. Chill)

{Q}We often talk about the impact of Alzheimer’s on the person with the
disease, on the caregiver, and on “family members.” But couched within
that language is the assumption that we’re only talking about adults.


What about the kids and teens who have a parent, grandparent, or
other relative with Alzheimer’s disease? They are likely scared,
confused, and perhaps angry or sad about the situation. And don’t forget
the kids and teens who have a friend who is dealing with this
challenge, which may bring up feelings of helplessness about how to be
supportive or what to say{EQ}



{Q}If you are a parent with a child or teenager who is struggling to
understand or cope with Alzheimer’s, you may have wondered if there are
any good resources out there that you can trust. Fortunately, there are.


Here are six ways to help kids and teens learn more about Alzheimer’s and develop coping strategies. (Note: I was not asked to write about any of these resources, and I am not receiving any compensation for mentioning any of them.) {EQ}



Want to receive notices of new "Ask Dr. Chill" posts? Just type
your email address in the box and click the "Create Subscription"
button. The list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any
time.

Aging in Place, Home Modifications, Retrofitting: Can Be Foreign to Many | Endless Legacy

Aging in Place, Home Modifications, Retrofitting: Can Be Foreign to Many | Endless Legacy: Aging in Place, Home Modifications, Retrofitting: Can Be Foreign to Many

By Rhonda Caudell on March 6, 2014 in Caregiving, General Information

Aging in Place is mostly referred to as when someone desires to stay in their existing home as they age, along with a desire to remain there until the end of their life. To determine if this is possible allowing for safety and continued function to the highest level is the challenge.

Individual's HEALTH ASSESSMENT for HEALTH CARE PROVIDER

Individual's HEALTH ASSESSMENT for
HEALTH CARE PROVIDER

TO BE COMPLETED BY HEALTH CARE PROVIDER

Individual's  Name and DOB:

Known Allergies: Height: Weight:

Medical history and diagnoses:

Physical or sensory limitations:

Cognitive or behavioral status:

Nursing/treatment/therapy service
requirements:

Special precautions:

A. To what extent does the individual
need supervision or

assistance with the following?

S=Needs Supervision I= Independent A=
Needs Assistance

Indicate the extent to which the
individuals is able to

perform each of the activities of daily
living.

Ambulation

Bathing

Dressing

Eating

Self Care (grooming)

Toileting

Transferring

Special Diet Instructions

Regular Calorie Controlled No Added
Salt Low Fat/Low

Cholesterol

Does the individual have any of the
following

conditions/requirements? Please include
an explanation

1. 
   1. A communicable
   disease, which could be transmitted to
   
   


2. 
   others
   
   


3. 
   2. Bedridden?
   
   


4. 
   3. Any stage 2, 3, or 4
   pressure sores?
   
   


5. 
   Pose a danger to self
   or others
   
   


6. 
   Require 24-hour nursing
   or psychiatric care?'
   
   


7. 
   In your opinion,
   
   
   


8. 
   can this individual's
   needs be met by this caregiver
   
   

ABILITY TO PERFORM SELF-CARE TASKS:

Preparing Meals

Shopping

Making and Receiving Phone Calls

Handling Personal Affairs

Handling Financial Affairs

GENERAL OVERSIGHT:

Observing Well-being

Observing Whereabouts

Reminders for Important Tasks

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS/OBSERVATIONS (Use
additional page if

necessary):

list all current medications prescribed
below

MEDICATION DOSAGE DIRECTIONS FOR
USE ROUTE

1.

2.

Does the individual need help with
taking his or her

medications

=

PLEASE RETURN TO:  

CARE PROVIDER NAME: 

CARE PROVIDER ADDRESS: 

TELEPHONE NUMBER: CONTACT PERSON:

Advice from Caregivers when asked “What have you learned from your journey that you think every caregiver should know?”

ALZ Connected - Alzheimer's Association: This is a compilation of the advice from  previous threads.  dj okay has  eliminated the replies that did not relate directly to the subject.







Advice from Caregivers when asked “What have you learned from your journey that you think every caregiver should know?” DJ attempted to categorize their responses. These are their words. Multiple statements in parentheses are further comments from subsequent responders.

Advice from Caregivers when asked “What have you learned from your journey that you think every caregiver should know?”

ALZ Connected - Alzheimer's Association: This is a compilation of the advice from  previous threads  dj okay has eliminated the replies that did not relate directly to the subject.



Advice from Caregivers when asked “What have you learned from your journey that you think every caregiver should know?” DJ attempted to categorize their responses. These are their words. Multiple statements in parentheses are further comments from subsequent responders.


JOIN  http://www.alzconnected.org/

What would convince a doctor to refer his patients to YOUR assisted living facility? | Blog | Illumination Analytics | Health Reform for Assisted Living Communities | Better Healthcare and Lower Cost

What would convince a doctor to refer his patients to YOUR assisted living facility? | Blog | Illumination Analytics | Health Reform for Assisted Living Communities | Better Healthcare and Lower Cost: What would convince a doctor to refer his patients to YOUR assisted living facility?
March 1st, 2014



 Dr. Steven Fuller

It always surprised me that not a single marketer offered me the one thing that would have made me choose THEM in a heartbeat:  metrics.  The one feature that would have made the greatest impression is the one thing I was never shown…some type of HEALTH PROFILE, anything that demonstrated they understood and were committed to the huge responsibility of managing my patients’ health.
Here are just a few things that I wanted to know and whose answers would have made a lasting and very positive impression and would have resulted in my referrals:
    I wanted to know the types of chronic health conditions and medications that are currently managed in this marketer’s AL so that I could have an idea of what the health environment was like.
    I wanted to know whether an AL could manage my patient with heart failure or lung disease or severe arthritis or chronic pain or depression and who is taking 8 different medicines at different times of the day.
    I wanted to know whether a facility somehow differentiates or adjusts its staffing to account for the Risk Level of individual residents – that is, does it care for residents with many health needs any differently than it does for residents with only minimal needs.
    I wanted to know WHO is managing the health of all the residents.  Are these caregivers educated about the kinds of health conditions my patients have and the medicines they take?  And how do the caregivers keep track of and become informed of all the health needs that they are managing?  This is a huge task when caring for so many people.
    I wanted to know whether the AL PROACTIVELY manages the health needs of my patients, or do they just wait until my patients get sick before intervening or sending them to the ER.  And how can the AL demonstrate its answer to me?



{He developed Illumination Analytics specifically for Assisted Living Communities in order to enhance health management and provide objective measures of care excellence in this setting.}

What causes olfactory hallucinations (phantosmia)? smelling non existent oders

Mayo Clinic

Answers from Jerry W. Swanson, M.D.

Many people are sensitive to certain smells, but in an olfactory hallucination (phantosmia), you detect smells that aren't really present in your environment. 



The odors detected in phantosmia vary from person to person and may be foul or pleasant. They can occur in one or both nostrils and usually can't be masked by food. 



Phantosmia most often occurs as a result of a head injury or upper respiratory infection. It can also be caused by temporal lobe seizures, sinusitis, brain tumors, migraine, Parkinson's disease and stroke. 





Because phantosmia can in rare cases be an indication of a serious underlying disorder, consult your doctor if you experience such symptoms.