First HIPAA Deadline Postponed

Not yet in compliance with the new electronic health care transactions and code sets standards established by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act? No problem. Congress passed an act last December that extends the original compliance deadline of Oct. 16, 2002 to Oct. 16, 2003, giving covered entities an extra year to meet the new standards.

The catch? You must apply for the extension by describing your compliance plan to the Department of Health and Human Services by Oct. 15, 2002.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has made this a fairly simple task by offering a model compliance plan on their Web site, www.cms.hhs.gov/hipaa. Covered entities can fill out the compliance form containing 26 questions, and then submit the form electronically. CMS will provide electronic confirmation of receipt of the plan. You also have the option of creating your own version of an extension plan providing equivalent information, which you can submit on paper. Instructions for filing a plan are available on the Web site.

For a step-by-step demonstration of the process, read Dr. David C. Kibbe’s latest article in the May 2002 issue of Family Practice Management, “HIPAA Compliance: How to Get an Extension.” There you’ll find a two-page version of the model compliance form that you may photocopy and use or adapt to suit your practice. To access the article online, go to www.aafp.org/fpm/2002-0500/52hipa.html.

On the larger issue of total HIPAA compliance, the AAFP has recently announced that its much-anticipated compliance guide is now available for purchase by AAFP members. The 131-page guide, entitled “HIPAA Privacy Manual: A How-to Guide for Your Medical Practice,” can be obtained in several formats, including a downloadable PDF file, a CD-ROM and a print version. Costs range from $50 to $100, and updates are included in the purchase price.

Members can purchase the manual online at www.aafp.org/hipaa or by calling (800) 944-0000. Remember, practices must be in compliance with the HIPAA privacy regulations by April, 14, 2003.

Accreditation Council Restricts Resident Hours

The agency that accredits the nation’s teaching hospitals recently announced that it would impose firm new limits on the number of hours worked by medical residents. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has made several changes to its rules to avoid errors made by sleep-deprived residents.

Taking effect in July 2003, these changes are expected to alter significantly the way in which doctors will be trained in the future. ACGME will limit residents’ workweek to 80 hours, require at least 10 hours of rest between shifts, restrict duty to no more than 24 hours at a time, and limit work outside the hospital, specifically patient care activities that are external to the educational program.

ACGME will also require stricter supervision of the residents and accountability from the hospitals that train young doctors. Faculty members and program directors will be required to assess residents for signs of sleep deprivation and fatigue and to take preventive measures and prepared courses of action. Institutions that train will be obligated to promote patient safety and education through duty hour assignments and faculty availability. 

Violations could result in the stripping of the institution’s accreditation. Doctors cannot be certified as specialists unless they graduate from an accredited training program.

Many of the nation’s 100,000 residents, new doctors who spend three to seven years training as specialists, complain they now work 100 or more hours a week, according to a recent article in The New York Times.

The ACGME’s measures will be taken primarily to promote a high-quality educational environment and safe patient care.

ACGME is a private professional organization that accredits nearly 7,800 residency education programs in 118 specialties and subspecialties. The mission of the ACGME is to improve health care in the United States by ensuring and improving the quality of graduate medical education experiences for training physicians.

Tar Wars®—Join the Battle

A long time ago, in states not so far away, a struggle to keep cigarettes out of the mouths of kids took the form of a classroom education program owned and operated by the American Academy of Family Physicians. May the Force be with us all — Tar Wars has landed in Texas.

The Texas Department of Health and the Texas Academy of Family Physicians invite family physicians, dentists, dental hygienists, school nurses, teachers and other health professionals and educators to become involved as presenters of this award-winning, tobacco-free education and prevention program for fourth and fifth grade classrooms across the state.

According to TDH, almost 60,000 kids under age 18 become daily smokers every year in Texas. Studies show that one third of these children will die prematurely as a result of tobacco use.

By participating in Tar Wars, Texas health care professionals can work to change these numbers. Signing up is easy. Just go to the Texas Tar Wars Web site at www.tdh.state.tx.us/otpc/tarwars, or contact the Texas Tar Wars coordinator, Janie Dykes, at the TDH Office of Tobacco Prevention and Control at (512) 458-7402.

Classroom presentations will take place from January to March of 2003. Presenters will be assigned to a school of their choice as indicated in the registration form. The deadline to register to be a Tar Wars presenter is Nov. 11, 2002.

Get involved in Tar Wars today. Help kids avoid the dark side of tobacco use.

New Software Guide Online

Looking to buy practice management software? AAFP and Microsoft Corp. have created a new guide to help buyers evaluate and identify the most appropriate package for their practices. The software guide resulted from a study of nine practice management systems used in doctors' offices. It was evaluated based on the needs and requirements of family physicians.

"We developed this initiative with Microsoft as a response to requests from our physician members to help them evaluate and select software for their medical practices," says Warren A. Jones, M.D., AAFP president. "The goals of this initiative are to give physicians confidence that that these solutions and vendors have been carefully evaluated by the AAFP and Microsoft. By taking the guesswork out of such a complicated decision, we help doctors focus on what they are trained to do-provide high-quality patient care."

You may access the guide online at www.aafp.org/practice/techguide/.