Errors can happen, and they can be costly. This is why medical practices need to find ways to ensure they stay compliant. That way they can make sure that their office and equipment is as safe and secure as possible. This is absolutely essential when it comes to keeping your workers and your patients safe. The following are four tips to help medical practices avoid mistakes.

Health Care Attorney on Call

It would be a good idea to have a health care attorney on call to make sure that the medical practice is compliant. A health care attorney can review things like joint ventures that the hospital may be considering or even employment work contracts. Both agreements could contain a violation because of something as simple as misuse of language or overlooking a particular policy. A lawyer can spot and correct these issues to keep the practice safe and out of trouble.

Mail Call

It might seem silly to remind medical offices to ensure that every piece of mail is opened and reviewed, but it should still be mentioned. Medical practices can be chaotic, and it is easy to forget about the mail. This task is important because medical entities such as Medicare have response requirements that, if not met, could cause compliance issues.

Knowledgeable Staff

It would be wise to hire personnel to keep up with some of the new regulations put in place. The personnel could subscribe to relevant medical publications or go to conferences. Health care is a tumultuous subject and one that goes through many changes for a number of reasons, such as lawsuits or political changes. The medical practice needs to be aware of any change such as changes to prescriptions drugs and their relevance of the PDMA as well as all other rules and regulations. It is definitely a good idea to look into things like this regularly so that you can make sure that you are always staying up to date with current information.

Issue With HIPAA

A recent survey shows that many small medical practices may not be HIPAA compliant, which can negatively affect a practice. It is important that HIPAA training is not overlooked, and it might be a good idea to have a checklist written up to make sure that the practice is satisfying all requirements. For example, there should be a policy to deal with a PHI breach.

There is no way to promise that no mistakes will be made because nothing runs perfectly no matter how much a medical practice might try, but some of these tips should reduce the risk of errors. Keep this rule of safety: it is always better to ask questions or double check anything that is not clear before making a decision.

Kara Masterson is a freelance writer from Utah. She enjoys Tennis and spending time with her family. Kara recommends looking into Shriners Hospitals for Children“ Cincinnati for more information on quality patient care.