Practice Operations
APRN FAQ on the new 2022 Kansas statute changes
With the passage of House Bill 2279 by the 2022 Kansas Legislature there is a lot of confusion about this new law regarding Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs). To address the most common questions we receive, we have started this Frequently Asked Questions resource at www.kmsonline.org/APRN. It will be a living document as circumstances develop.
Contracting basics: managed care
KMS hosted a webinar in 2018 which reviewed the basics of contracting with managed care companies. The slides and other resources from that event are available here.
If you have questions or need more information about this topic, contact Nancy Sullivan at
OIG compliance resource guide
The Office of Inspector General recently released Measuring Compliance Program Effectiveness: A Resource Guide, a new resource to assist organizations with their compliance efforts. The guide provides organizations with a host of ideas as to what and how to measure the effectiveness of all seven elements of a compliance plan. The guide allows providers to select the ideas that work best for their program. The OIG cautioned that the guide is not intended to be applied as a template.
The OIG has long encouraged physicians to implement compliance programs, consisting of seven specific elements, and to measure the effectiveness of these programs. The guide comes on the heels of the Department of Justice release of “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs,” which is a long list of questions that prosecutors will ask when deciding whether to file fraud charges against corporations and/or individuals and what kind of charges to bring.
The OIG also has a Compliance Program for Individual and Small Group Physician Practices and may be found here. If you have questions or concerns developing or maintaining your compliance plan, contact Nancy Sullivan at
Transfer of records
According to K.S.A. 65-2837, it is “unprofessional conduct” for a physician to fail to transfer records to another licensee when requested to do so by a patient or his or her representative. Therefore, if a patient requests medical records be copied and sent to another health care professional, the records should be copied and sent without waiting for payment from the patient. The patient may be billed for the copies, but delivery of the records to another health care professional should not be delayed. A provider should not condition the furnishing of records upon payment of copying charges.
Questions? Contact Nancy Sullivan at
Compliance
Health care is one of the most highly regulated industries in the United States. There is no area of the health care practice that doesn’t fall under the scrutiny of a regulatory body. Having a compliance plan can mitigate your risk.
A compliance program, which is recommended for all medical practices and clinical labs, is a comprehensive program to prevent and detect violations of law or policy. It comprises a number of important functions including:
- Defines expectation for employees for ethical and proper behaviors when conducting business
- Demonstrates the organization’s commitment to “doing the right thing”
- Encourages problems to be reported
- Provides a mechanism for constant monitoring
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has substantial guidance on the implementation of a compliance program. The OIG website has other resources, including opinion letters, fraud alerts and open letters from the OIG to the health care industry.
Questions? Contact Nancy Sullivan at
Resources
Electronic Medical Records
- Patient records may be stored by an electronic data system, microfilm, or similar photographic means. A licensee may destroy original paper records stored in this manner if the stored record can be reproduced without alteration from the original. K.A.R. 100-24-2(b)
- Paper records may be destroyed once they are entered into an electronic record, if the electronic record is an exact replication of the information of the paper record, and the record can be reproduced in paper form from the electronic record if requested. K.A.R. 100-24-2(b), (c).
Questions? Contact Nancy Sullivan at
Storage of medical records
Physicians are not required to keep inactive charts on site. A physician may designate an entity, another physician, or health care facility to maintain the record so long as the record is stored in a manner that allows access to the record and maintains confidentiality. K.A.R. 100-24-2(a)
Questions? Contact Nancy Sullivan at
Transitioning a medical practice
Retiring, selling or joining a new practice can be an exciting, complicated and time-consuming process with many details. As with any transition of this magnitude it is important to contact your health care attorney who can aid with contracts and your accountant to help access practice value. Below is a list to guide you through the process.
Requirements for retention of records
- Physicians must keep medical records for ten (10) years from the date of last treatment. This includes minors and deceased patients. K.A.R. 100-24-1
- Hospitals must keep medical records for a period of ten (10) years after the date of the last discharge of the patient, or one (1) year beyond the date the minor patient reaches the age of majority, whichever is longer. K.A.R. 28-34-9a
Questions? Contact Nancy Sullivan at
Documentation requirements
One of the most important issues facing physician practices relates to the documentation of treatment/services. Often, medical record documentation is the best defense in liability suites. Medical records are used to: indentify the provider and the location of services provided; determine medical necessity; and claim accuracy.
Advertising
Physicians may engage in advertising or solicitation so long as the communication is not false or deceptive. Specifically, making claims of special skills or training without proper credentials constitutes fraudulent conduct and can be grounds for revocation of a professional license. Advertising must be compliant with state laws or physicians may face potential charges of professional misconduct.
Subcategories
General Topics Article Count: 2
The information here covers a number of topics and issues related to general practice operations.
If you have additional questions, please contact
Medical Records Article Count: 5
Use this resource to learn more about the handling, storage and transfer requirements surrounding patient medical records.
For more information, contact
