April Compliance & HR Team Announcement:
While HealthPoint provides the I Got My Covid-19 Vaccine badges, we want to make it clear that we do not require anyone to wear them. That is completely your choice if you do or do not share it with others, the badge is Voluntary.
o
If you believe you are being treated differently for wearing or not wearing your I Got My Covid-19 Vaccine badge, we encourage you to report it to the Compliance Hotline at Compliance@healthpoint-tx.com.
o
HealthPoint prohibits retaliation against anyone who, in good faith, reports a possible violation or participates in an investigation, even if sufficient evidence is not found to substantiate the concern. HealthPoint will take appropriate action against any individual determined to be engaged in retaliatory conduct.
Authored By: Fatima Naeem and Katherine Hall
o
March: Important Reminder from the Compliance Team!
Quarterly HIPAA Reminder!
Quarterly HIPAA Reminder
As part of HealthPoint’s ongoing Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA’s) Security Program, the HIPAA Security and Chief Information Officer, Brian Thurston, and HIPAA Privacy Officer/Director of Risk Management, Katherine Hall Chiavone are sending out this quarterly reminder.
What are data breaches and why is protecting against them important? A breach is defined as an impermissible use or disclosure under the HIPAA privacy rule that compromises the security or privacy of the Protected Health Information. HIPAA breaches are not only the source of disciplinary action for staff members but also costly to HealthPoint as an organization. In 2020, the average breach of healthcare data cost organizations around $9.23 million in fines and restitution, a number that keeps increasing every year. Don’t click any links you aren’t familiar with and if in doubt, reach out either Brian Thurston and/or Katherine Hall Chiavone.
o
Compliance Hotline!
The Compliance Team is excited to roll out a new Compliance Hotline!
HealthPoint Senior Leadership saw a need to create an additional confidential avenue for reporting unsafe working conditions, discrimination, harassment, unethical behavior, and bullying. This hotline is in addition to the current Workplace Employee Quarterly Questionnaire. Thus, we have created the mailto:Compliance@HealthPoint-tx.com email address. We understand that it may be easy to confuse things reported to the hotline with something that should remain in variance reports. The lists below outline where you should report each type of issue:
o
Things you should report to the hotline:
- Unsafe working conditions
- Discrimination
- Harassment
- Unethical Behavior
- Bullying
- Abusive Coworkers
- Theft/Property Damage
Things to send through variance reports:
- Patient Falls
- Medication Errors
- ER Referrals
- Abusive Patients
- All other things that you usually report through the Variance Trigger Form.
o
If you aren’t sure where to report something, reach out to our Director of Risk Management/Compliance, Katherine Hall, or our Chief Compliance Officer, Fatima Naeem. They can help you determine which avenue will be best to report!
o
The Compliance Hotline emails go to the Compliance Department, Fatima Naeem, and Katherine Hall. Remember that your report is not anonymous; however, the Compliance team will do its best to keep as much information confidential as possible.
o
HealthPoint prohibits retaliation against anyone who, in good faith, reports a possible violation or who participates in an investigation, even if sufficient evidence is not found to substantiate the concern. HealthPoint will take appropriate action against any individual engaged in retaliatory conduct.
Authored By: Fatima Naeem and Katherine Hall
o
Return to our blog home page HERE.