Red Flags Rule Readiness
Is Your Practice Ready for the Red Flags Rule?
Much like many of our customers, we strive to stay on the pulse of industry changes. For me, reading up on healthcare trends is about more than staying in-the-know and being able to speak intelligently about the vast changes going on around us; I have to stay current because our customers depend on it. As the VP of software engineering, it is ultimately my responsibility to make sure our customers are armed with the tools to not only streamline efficiencies, but to stay in compliance, to earn bonuses, to maximize stimulus grants, and to build a profit. Today, I want to share with you my knowledge about an important industry game-changer, and explain what CollaborateMD is doing to facilitate a smooth adoption of this new policy for every one of our customers.
Starting August 1, 2009, the FTC will begin enforcing the Red Flags Rule. This law will require healthcare providers that are considered "creditors" to develop a written program to identify, detect, and respond to indicators or "red flags" of identity theft. If your organization allows deferred patient payments until services are rendered and insurance is collected, you are considered a "creditor" by the FTC, and the Red Flags Rule applies to you. In order to assist healthcare providers, the AMA has prepared a guidance document along with sample policies. I would like to encourage our customers to participate in an open discussion about this new rule and its effects in our Forums.
CollaborateMD Tools
The CollaborateMD medical billing software has several built-in tools that facilitate adoption of your Red Flags Rule policy. These include:
- Patient "Dup Check" - Detect duplicate SSN or Last-First-DOB entries in your system.
- Patient Merge - Detect information similarities across all your patient accounts.
- Insurance Eligibility - Detect PHI that conflicts with insurance provider records.
- USPS Address Verification - Detect addresses that conflict with USPS database.
- Document Management - Capture images of your patients driver's license and insurance card.
- Patient Notes & Alerts - Flag an account in question and keep track of the investigation process.
As a partner in your success, we are committed to delivering quality solutions that keep you on the cutting edge of compliance. I hope you'll share with me if you found this information helpful, and how we might be able to better serve your needs in the future by leaving a comment below.
AMA Resources
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/no-index/physician-resources/red-flags-rule.shtml
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/368/red-flags-rule-edu.pdf
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/368/red-flags-rule-policy.pdf
FTC Resources
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/articles/art11.shtm
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/idtheft/bus23.pdf
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/resources/forms/affidavit.pdf
UPDATE:
FTC announced on July 29th that it is delaying enforcement until Nov 1, 2009.
For more information, please visit: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/07/redflag.shtm
To get involved in the conversation, visit the CollaborateMD Forums.