http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/ en sabadi@elliottdavis.com Copyright 2012 2012-05-15T18:13:42+00:00 http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/bill-woodward-discusses-elliott-davis-in-buzz-on-biz-interview/ http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/bill-woodward-discusses-elliott-davis-in-buzz-on-biz-interview/#When:18:13:42Z CSRA Managing Shareholder, Bill Woodward sat down with Buzz on Biz to discuss how Elliott Davis helps clients and what sets the firm apart. Click here to listen to the podcast. 2012-05-15T18:13:42+00:00 http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/prescriptives-from-the-consulting-cabinet-2012-vol.-5/ http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/prescriptives-from-the-consulting-cabinet-2012-vol.-5/#When:18:02:17Z Are You Building Your Practice On A Solid Base? I recently had the opportunity to participate in an annual training day for the staff and physicians of one of our clients. The goal of my presentation was to intertwine the client’s HIPAA and compliance policies with the basics of HIPAA and compliance. While preparing for my session, I reflected upon the time that the practice was devoting to training their staff and the impact that this would have on the practice. Would there be increased operational efficiencies or a reduced chance of having a compliance issue? Would the employees have greater job satisfaction because of the practice’s investment in their personal development and training? We can all agree that for an organization to reach the highest level of efficiency and service, it must be invested in training its employees. While organizations can focus a great deal of time, effort and resources to select the best employees, the most important step in moving from a good practice to an excellent practice could be how employees are trained. Unfortunately, a majority of healthcare entities do not spend the appropriate time training, nor do they focus on appropriate training for their staff. In this volume of Prescriptives, I discuss five ways to improve your training program. Also, please engage with me on Twitter at irabedenbaugh or on LinkedIn. Through these channels, I routinely share additional thoughts on healthcare and leadership. -Ira Five Ways to Improve Your Training Program #1 – Get over it. Many fear that making an investment in training an employee is only preparing them for their next job, so why spend the time and effort? Zig Ziglar, a national speaker on success and training said, “What’s worse than training your workers and losing them? Not training them and keeping them.” To run a great practice, you must focus on preparing employees to be the best that they can be, and in turn, your patients and practice will benefit. If the employee does leave your practice, it will be for a reason other than the training you provided. #2 – Utilize your staff to facilitate training sessions. I believe that one of the best ways to know a subject is to teach the subject. Rather than having one person responsible for training, spread the wealth by having a group of staff members facilitate various training sessions. A staff member’s knowledge of a subject will increase as they prepare to teach their coworkers, and coworkers are generally more engaged when someone different is teaching. #3 – Schedule the training. To make training a priority within your practice, you need to make it part of the schedule. This can be as simple as fifteen minutes every Tuesday morning before the office opens. If a staff member is providing part of the training, make sure they know in advance the date of their training so they can come prepared and facilitate a productive session. Scheduled meetings add accountability to the training process. #4 – Use webinars. Webinars are an easy and cost effective way to make high level training available to your staff. Webinars generally last 45 to 90 minutes and cover a wide range of technical, compliance and general knowledge topics that can move your organization forward. For example, if your organization has an evaluation process for employees, you know that effective feedback is critical to the evaluation process. Elliott Davis will be hosting a free webinar, titled “Developing Talent: Critical Steps to Effective Feedback and Coaching” on June 13th. To register, click here. #5 – Accountability. It is important to keep record of the subject matter of training sessions and who was in attendance. This information can later be utilized for your compliance program and evaluation process. To make the training session fun and interactive, you might include a simple evaluation at the end of it. And for those employees scoring a certain level, provide a low cost gift certificate to recognize their achievement. I am interested in hearing your thoughts about training. E-mail your ideas on training to me at ibedenbaugh@elliottdavis.com and I will include them in the next Prescriptives from the Consulting Cabinet. Q&A from Prescriptives: Volume 4 Click here to read Prescriptives Volume 4, Five Steps to Ensure You are Doing the Right Thing – HIPPA. Q: Ira, I enjoyed your last Prescriptives on HIPAA. What is a good resource for additional information on HIPAA requirements? A: I have found that one of the best resources is the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), who has the responsibility of enforcing HIPAA laws. By clicking here you will be redirected to their HIPAA site, which has information on the privacy and security regulations. News releases are also posted regarding recent cases that can help you better understand the issues that the OCR is targeting. About Ira Ira Bedenbaugh: As chair of Elliott Davis’ Medical Consulting Practice, Ira assists physician practices and hospitals with their strategic initiatives, daily financial management and operational needs. A frequent speaker with more than 13 years of experience in the medical consulting field and 10 years in practice administration, he understands the inner workings, external pressures, challenges and opportunities that practices face. Phone: 864.552.4715 | Email: ibedenbaugh@elliottdavis.com Industry, Healthcare, Service, Accounting Resources, Assurance, Consulting, Tax 2012-05-15T18:02:17+00:00 http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/controlling-it-security/ http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/controlling-it-security/#When:13:41:41Z Jay Brietz, CPA, CIA Advances in technology boost the speed and ease of business but also create an ever-growing, ever-changing environment of risk. In early April, Elliott Davis and the Business Innovation and Growth Council held a seminar on what executives need to know about information risk. This seminar examined how organizations are exposed to such risk, the measures management can implement to mitigate it and the critical steps management should take once a breach occurs. Click the PDF below to read the full article which appeared in the 5.11.12 issue of the Charlotte Business Journal. 2012-05-14T13:41:41+00:00 http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/kay-biscopink-explains-subpart-f-in-dezan-shiras-china-briefing/ http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/kay-biscopink-explains-subpart-f-in-dezan-shiras-china-briefing/#When:19:14:58Z Elliott Davis’ International Services Practice Chair Kay Biscopink, CPA, recently discussed a topic highly relevant to American foreign investors in Dezan Shira’s China Briefing. The U.S. IRS code provisions embodied in Subpart F are designed to limit the deferral of U.S. income tax on earnings from abroad. Click here read the article. 2012-05-07T19:14:58+00:00 http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/prescriptives-from-the-consulting-cabinet-2012-vol.-4/ http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/prescriptives-from-the-consulting-cabinet-2012-vol.-4/#When:15:15:20Z Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with a group of office managers regarding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, otherwise known as HIPAA. In preparing for the course, I remembered a previous conversation with one of the physicians in the family practice group that I was managing at the time. With all sincerity he asked, “Do we need to provide paper bags for patients to place over their heads while they are in the waiting room?” We can chuckle about that now, but at the time we were trying to get our arms around this new legislation that was regulating how we were to protect patient data. For many of us in healthcare, privacy was at the core of how we ran our practice and we struggled with the concepts of protected health information, business associate agreements and releases of protected health information. I entitled my refresher course, “Don’t Let HIPAA Become A Charging HIPPO.” It was an easy title for the course, because I believe that HIPAA has “become part of the health care culture” and in some cases is now on autopilot. In this case, being on autopilot and “part of our culture” might be a problem as practices assume that physicians and staff are doing the right thing. In this volume of Prescriptives from the Consulting Cabinet, we will focus on five steps that you can take today to ensure that you are doing the right thing when it comes to HIPAA. I look forward to hearing your comments and feedback. Also, please engage with me on Twitter at irabedenbaugh or on LinkedIn. Through these channels, I routinely share additional thoughts on healthcare and leadership. -Ira Five Steps to Ensure You are Doing the Right Thing – HIPAA Training – How would you rate the ongoing training your staff and physicians receive regarding your HIPAA privacy and security policies and procedures? You might have had heart palpitations when you read “ongoing” and “your.” Regardless of whether you have recently updated your policies and procedures or not, you should consistently train your staff on the importance of your HIPAA policies and procedures. Progressive practices realize the importance of ongoing training and the positive impact training has on practice operations. I recommend that you develop an ongoing training program that incorporates a portion of your HIPAA policies and procedures into each session. Policies and Procedures – Yes, I did say that you needed to train them on your policies and procedures. When meeting with clients I like to discuss the practice’s personality and the importance of ensuring your HIPPA policies and procedures are written to meet the uniqueness of your practice. This means that the policies and procedures need to be owned by the practice. Unfortunately, many practices believe that they can buy a “canned document” to meet the regulatory needs. This is a great way to start developing your own policies and procedures, but simply filling in the blanks with your practice’s name does not transform these into your own documents. Business Associate Agreement – As practice and governmental regulations change, it is important that you have a process in place to review policies and procedures. The new breach notification requirement is a great example of how changes in regulations can impact your policies and procedures. If you have not reviewed your documents recently, you likely do not realize that your business associate agreement probably needs to be updated in light of the new requirements. If you have not reviewed your business associate agreement, I would recommend that you engage a trusted healthcare attorney to assist you with the process. Security Officer – Many practices have a privacy officer but might not have a security officer. A practice’s security officer has the responsibility of developing and implementing a practice’s security policies and procedures regarding protected health information. In addition to developing and implementing the security policies and procedures, the security officer also would be responsible for the practice’s risk analysis, staff training and risk assessment. Risk Assessment – Risk assessments are required by HIPAA to measure how well a practice is meeting the requirements of the Security Rule. Unfortunately, many practices were first introduced to risk assessments as one of the core measures of meaningful use, not realizing that they should have been performing them earlier. Risk assessments, when properly done, provide a practice with a “roadmap,” outlining how practice resources should be allocated to bring the practice into compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule and how to address various risks within a practice. Q&A from Prescriptives: Volume 3 Click here to read Prescriptives Volume 3, Five Steps to Take Today to Change Your Patient’s Experience. Q: Does CMS have an appeals process in place regarding the e-prescribe penalty? A: While there is not an official appeals process for the e-prescribe penalty, CMS did release the following statement a couple of weeks ago. I know of one practice that was successful in appealing their penalty by calling the QualityNet Help Desk. “Although there is no appeal or review process established for the eRx Incentive Program and payment adjustment, we encourage eligible professionals with questions or concerns about the eRx payment adjustment and hardship exemption requests to contact our QualityNet Help Desk. We encourage you to contact the QualityNet Help Desk as soon as possible to make your concerns around the 2012 eRx payment adjustment known. Through the QualityNet Help Desk, we have been working with eligible professionals and CMS-selected group practices who have questions about eRx payment adjustments and/or hardship exemption decisions. We are handling all hardship exemption requests and any questions or concerns on a case-by-case basis. Eligible professionals should continue to contact the QualityNet Help Desk if they have issues relating to the eRx payment adjustment and/or the rationale for denial of their hardship exemption request. The QualityNet Help Desk can be reached M-F; 7:00 am – 7:00 pm CMT at 866-288-8912 or via email at qnetsupport@sdps.org” Ira Bedenbaugh: As chair of Elliott Davis’ Medical Consulting Practice, Ira assists physician practices and hospitals with their strategic initiatives, daily financial management and operational needs. A frequent speaker with more than 13 years of experience in the medical consulting field and 10 years in practice administration, he understands the inner workings, external pressures, challenges and opportunities that practices face. Phone: 864.552.4715 | Email: ibedenbaugh@elliottdavis.com Industry, Healthcare, Service, Accounting Resources, Assurance, Consulting, Tax 2012-04-23T15:15:20+00:00 http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/elliott-davis-onsite-newsletter-spring-2012-issue/ http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/elliott-davis-onsite-newsletter-spring-2012-issue/#When:13:57:16Z We are pleased to present the Spring issue of OnSite Newsletter. The articles include several topics that we believe will be of interest to you including the following: Managing payroll taxes: Not easy, but important Boost productivity without breaking the bank 4 hot features of the latest construction accounting software How can we better control fuel costs? We welcome your questions and comments about the topics discussed or related ones. Please contact us and let us know how we can be of assistance. Industry, Construction, Service, Accounting Resources, Assurance, Consulting, Tax 2012-04-06T13:57:16+00:00 http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/elliott-davis-real-estate-advisor-newsletter-may-june-2012/ http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/elliott-davis-real-estate-advisor-newsletter-may-june-2012/#When:13:03:15Z We are pleased to present the May/June issue of Real Estate Advisor. The articles include several topics that we believe will be of interest to you including the following: IRS issues long-awaited rules on tax treatment LEED-ing the way in green building C corporation acquisitions: Beware of the tax issues Ask the Advisor: Is structured financing right for me? We welcome your questions and comments about the topics discussed or related ones. Please contact us and let us know how we can be of assistance. Industry, Real Estate, Service, Accounting Resources, Assurance, Consulting, Tax 2012-04-06T13:03:15+00:00 http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/spring-2012-community-banking-advisor-newsletter/ http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/spring-2012-community-banking-advisor-newsletter/#When:18:03:49Z We are pleased to present the Spring issue of Community Banking Advisor. The articles include several topics that we believe will be of interest to you including the following: Understand the tax implications of bank mergers Sorting through restatements Suspicious activity: Are you seeing the big picture? BANK Wire We welcome your questions and comments about the topics discussed or related ones. Please contact us and let us know how we can be of assistance. Industry, Financial Services, Service, Accounting Resources, Assurance, Consulting, Tax 2012-04-05T18:03:49+00:00 http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/brandon-renaud-publishes-article-in-palmetto-communities/ http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/brandon-renaud-publishes-article-in-palmetto-communities/#When:18:12:48Z Elliott Davis Senior Manager Brandon Renaud penned the article “How Long Should You Keep Your Business Records?” for the Vol. 4, Issue 4 of Palmetto Communities, a publication of the Community Association Institute (CAI). In the article, Renaud outlines a retention schedule for community business records that takes into account state and federal regulations, as well as industry standards. Please click below to read the article which is followed by Elliott Davis’ brochure on our Community Association Services. Service, Accounting Resources, Assurance, Consulting, Tax 2012-03-13T18:12:48+00:00 http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/prescriptives-from-the-consulting-cabinet-2012-vol.-3/ http://www.elliottdavis.com/articles/prescriptives-from-the-consulting-cabinet-2012-vol.-3/#When:19:41:29Z Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a healthcare conference held at a hotel known for its customer service. The hotel did not disappoint in that their corporate culture of creating a great experience permeated throughout the entire staff. From the bellhop to the registration desk to dining and housekeeping, each member of the team was focused on making my experience a memorable one. Healthcare today is increasingly focused on changing the patient’s perception of satisfying healthcare service. I think one of the first ways to change a patient’s perception is to focus on changing the experience they have when coming to your office. In this volume of Prescriptives from the Consulting Cabinet, I will focus on five steps that you can take today to begin positively changing your patient’s experience. I look forward to hearing your comments and feedback. -Ira Five Steps to Take Today to Change Your Patient’s Experience Entrance – When was the last time that you walked into your practice using the patient entrance? If your answer is more than five days ago, I recommend you stop reading this article and do it right now. What did you see, hear and smell? Did it impress you? You might be disappointed when you see, hear and smell your practice through the eyes of your patient. Simple things such as getting rid of old tattered magazines, dusting and spending a few dollars on an air freshener can make a big difference. Phones – We have two ways to make a first impression on patients – the entrance and the phones. Have you ever dialed your main number and listened to what takes place? The key to a great phone experience is how efficiently and quickly your patients’ needs are met. Is your system doing that? I hate to tell you, but it probably is not. If you use an automated attendant, is it intuitive, or do you need a map to get to the correct person? And once you do, is the mailbox full? Using a real person to answer the phones does not relieve the problems if he/she is not well equipped with proper phone skills, very knowledgeable about how to handle problems, and/or doesn’t know everyone in the office. Listen to your staff – I am not talking about your staff’s ideas, but rather how do they address patients? “Honey,” “Hun,” “Babe” and “Sweetie” have unfortunately become the method of addressing patients for many physician office staff members. When I have asked staff members not to call me “Sweetie,” they did not even realize that they had used that word. A way that public speakers rid themselves of bad habits is to be made aware of distracting tendencies during practice, generally with a small horn. Perhaps you should consider using some type of audio cue to make your staff aware of distracting tendencies. Respect patient privacy – Most physician(s) office(s) are not designed to respect a patient’s privacy, except by closing a door and that only takes care of the visual. When needing to have difficult conversations with patients, be aware of the surroundings and how others view the situation. Better yet, educate your staff and physicians on predetermined locations that are appropriate to have difficult conversations with patients that are out of sight and earshot. Training – To change the culture, you have to change the people. The only way to change the people is to invest in them. Unfortunately, the extent of most practices investing in employees is either through a quarterly staff meeting or worse, through word of mouth. To effectively train your staff you must, at a minimum, have a monthly training program that focuses on not only the items listed above, but on all phases of practice operations. This type of approach will not only make a huge difference in the impression you make on patients but will also greatly improve office operations and ultimately practice profitability. Q&A from Prescriptives: Volume 2 Click here to read Prescriptives Volume 2, Five Important Revenue Areas. Q: We sent in 25 eprescribes last year for 2011. I thought that was the end of it, but from your bulletin I understand we have to send in 10 more for 2012? Is that correct? What is the complete total for 2012? A: Here is a breakdown of what was to happen in 2011 and what must happen in 2012. 2011 For the provider to prevent receiving only 99% of the Medicare allowable in 2012, a provider must have reported a minimum of 10 eRx’s for Medicare Part B patients by June 30, 2011 using the claims method. The claims method requires that G8553 is filed along with the E/M code when the claim is filed. Providers could have filed for an exemption from the withhold based upon one of the following: Areas without sufficient high speed internet (G8642) Areas without sufficient pharmacies accepting eRx (G8643) Eligible provider does not have prescriptive authority (G8644) Eligible provider has fewer than 100 cases containing the denominator Less than 10% of eligible providers total allowable Part B charges were for codes in the denominator For the provider to receive the 1% 2011 eRx incentive payment based on the provider’s 2012 Medicare allowables, a minimum of 25 eRx’s must have been reported by December 31, 2011. The 10 eRx’s reported for the June 30, 2011 deadline could have counted towards the required 25 eRx’s needed by December 31, 2011. The additional 15 eRx’s could have been reported either through the claims method or the registry method. 2012 For the provider to prevent receiving only 98.5% of the Medicare allowable in 2013, a provider must report a minimum of 10 eRx’s for Medicare Part B patients by June 30, 2012 using the claims method. As required in 2011, G8553 must be filed to report the eRx along with the associated E/M code. It is anticipated that the provider can file for an exemption from the withhold based upon the same reasons as in 2011. For the provider to receive the 1% 2012 eRx incentive payment based on the provider’s 2012 Medicare allowables, a minimum of 25 eRx’s must be reported by December 31, 2012. The 10 eRx’s reported for the June 30, 2012 deadline can count towards the required 25 eRx’s needed by December 31, 2012. While the additional 15 eRx’s can be reported through the claims method or the registry method, I would recommend that the Practice go ahead and use the claims method to report the 25 eRx as soon as possible. Phone: 864.552.4715 | Email: ibedenbaugh@elliottdavis.com Industry, Healthcare, Service, Accounting Resources, Assurance, Consulting, Tax 2012-03-07T19:41:29+00:00