Charging for medical records requests can now end up costing you money – if you bill the wrong amount.
Failure to comply with new CMS regulations for charging for medical records means your practice can be hit with an $85,000 fine per penalty. Even innocent mistakes can land you in serious hot water.
IMPORTANT: New CMS regulations were released right when COVID-19 started. CMS has made it clear that not knowing about the rule is not a defense against noncompliance fines.
This is where healthcare attorney, Laura F. Fryan, JD, can help. During her 60-minute online training session, she’ll show you exactly how to know who you can charge for copying medical records requests, how much the new regulations allow you to charge, and what you can include (or exclude) in those fees, so you stop a HIPAA probe before it starts.
Here are just some of the charging for medical records questions you’ll get answered by attending this expert-led, 60-minute online training:
- How should you adjust your charges to meet new CMS allowances?
- What fees are appropriate for attorney or third-party info requests, and can you charge more?
- How can your staff respond in a proven way that stops complaints from happening?
- What if the patient can’t afford the fees you’ve set?
- Can you charge more for requests from doctors, and for what reasons?
- How can you get paid for the additional time that archived information takes to compile?
- Which requested formats (CD, thumb drive, paper, etc.) are you required to honor?
- Do you need different forms per record requestee type?
- How do you educate staff to ensure the right fee limit is applied every time?
- Can you charge for data verification and search costs if your state allows it?
- What can you include in your “real costs” for medical records duplication?
- How much time can your record production process take and still avoid a HIPAA fine?
- What patient records (X-rays, etc.) are you required to provide when outside providers produce them?
- How can you be compensated when a patient wants his or her medical records mailed?
- What personal health information (PHI) should you omit as part of your “medical record” definition?
- When to comply with HIPAA vs state laws of fees for copies?
- Are there instances when you can refuse a medical records request?
- How do patient portals and electronic medical records affect you complying with patient requests?
- And much more …
Who should attend this session: Anyone that is involved or could be affected by medical records requests. Practice Managers, Compliance Managers, Physicians, NPPs, Administrators, Privacy Managers, Front Desk Managers, etc.
All it takes is a single complaint, and you could be left paying a massive fine. This online training session will break down these confusing laws surrounding charging for medical records. You’ll walk away from this training with the know-how to more compliantly set your charges and protect your practice from financial damages.
You deserve to be paid for the additional resources and time it takes to fulfill medical records requests. However, do it wrong, and you can be faced with HIPAA complaints, violations, and hefty fines. Don’t risk it. Sign up for this expert-led online training today.
Added Bonus: Register for this online training, and you will also receive a downloadable Excel file that identifies each federal and state law that governs timelines for responding to medical records. This tool will help you and your staff more easily adhere to the right law every time and protect your practice from costly fines.
Laura is a partner with Brouse McDowell law firm. As a healthcare attorney, she provides strategic guidance and legal advice on a variety of topics including HIPAA, Stark and Anti-Kickback compliance, vendor agreements, employment contracts, overpayment audits, government investigations, private/government payer reimbursement, and state/federal licensing.
Laura also facilitates transactions for her healthcare clients including joint ventures, leasing of physician practices, buying and selling physician groups, and other health care related entities. Her clients include physician practices, hospitals, home health agencies, ambulatory surgery centers, assisted living facilities, dialysis companies and health plans.
