What Not to Do When You’re a Medical Facility or Private Practice Owner

A Vancouver chiropractic clinic owner was ordered to pay an $88,846 settlement after it was discovered that he had improperly billed clients for its wide range of services, according to a report on the BLS Courier Herald. The settlement was given to the Washington Department of Labor and Industries.  

Dr. Lucas Homer, the clinic owner, also had another business- Cascade Park Sports Medicine and Rehab PLLC, which was also faced with fines costing $452 and $47 in trial costs, after the company was found out to be guilty of attempted second-degree theft.

The clinic entered an agreement with the state agency to provide covered injured workers physical therapy and therapeutic massages. The Vancouver clinic saw it as a money-making opportunity. Based on records gathered by the Washington Attorney General’s office, the clinic billed the agency for hundreds of bogus appointments that were falsely reported to have taken place for a period of two years, beginning on March 1, 2009, up to September 15, 2011.

The clinic had two tactics: for one, claiming it also rendered services on a particular day for the worker  other than the real date of their appointment (upcoding and billing); and allowing uncertified employees to render massages and physical therapy services, then using the number of certified personnel on the bill at the event of billing. 

It was textbook fraud and at its finest. Unfortunately, no secrets are left hidden. The dirty secret had been revealed following a Labor and Industries investigation. L & I investigations leader Annette Taylor tells BLS Courier Herald that the department is thrilled that the workers have been compensated for the inconvenience.

Taylor added that the department monitor whether providers are billing patients correctly and providing them the healthcare services covered by their fringe benefits. “When providers don’t do that, we catch them,” she said. 

It’s really astonishing that some healthcare providers blatantly commit such acts of fraud when they know that the risk of getting caught—or, rather, jailed is too high. Remember, especially if you work as a medical biller and coder in a facility, that a single typo and intentionally manipulating patient records for financial gain already constitute as fraud. Don’t be greedy and always think of the consequences of criminal fraud. The word criminal won’t be used to describe it after all if it’s not punishable by law.   

Resources:

• http://www.blscourierherald.com/business/233934581.html
• http://www.meditec.com/medical-billing-training/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_billing

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In Tanzania, Paralegals Play a Bigger Role in Upholding Justice

When we think of paralegals, we often imagine someone who’s in a starchy corporate attire, buried in a tower of paperwork. But paralegals are out there and work out in the field a lot too—more often than not, they interact with a lot of people for their research. In a country like Tanzania, paralegals play no second fiddle to any lawyer—they are frontliners, extending their services to people who thirst for justice but could not afford the expensive services of a lawyer. 

Michal Haonga of IPPMedia.com provides a glimpse of the role of paralegal in Tanzania and how their local government is helping shape up the legal scene with grants for paralegal training in an article titled Paralegals Vital in Government’s Justice for All Initiative. According to Haonga, standardized paralegal training on a national level, especially if “well-utilized” can give hope to millions of Tanzanians who long for justice—considering that paralegals provide legal aid too to individuals needing of legal help in the East African country.

Paralegals in the country are allowed to provide legal aid to the less fortunate since 1990s (hence the term paralegalism). Unfortunately, back then, Haonga notes, the government and other related agencies were not keen on focusing on paralegal training because there were a lot of things that they had to mind like socio-economic problems and illiteracy. This forced the government to allow untrained paralegals to provide support to the less fortunate. Some of these paralegals are operating today. 

Tanzania’s Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC)’s Human Rights Report in 2009 stated that 80 percent of Tanzanians, who were mostly victim of human rights violation, could not afford to hire a lawyer to represent them in court. Thanks to the Legal Services Facility (LSF) which provided a grant to the Tanganyika Law Society, standardized paralegal training would reach more people who want to, well, become a paralegal. The organization will also channel some of funds into recruitment activities for paralegals and monitor the quality of paralegal training in the country. Haonga says that these steps will help the government materialize its dream of providing legal services for all who need it and the establishment of a bill that would further it.  

In the US, where standardization of paralegal training isn’t a gaping problem, paralegals are self-governing individuals as well; in most states, there is no particular agency that governs the profession. This doesn’t mean however that paralegals can practice freely and provide advise to consumers on their own. They cannot—and most certainly have to do so under the supervision of a lawyer. But although paralegals cannot practice independently unlike in Tanzania, this doesn’t mean paralegals can’t help out the less fortunate who need legal services in their own way. 

So what are the ways that paralegals may do so? Working in the public interest sector is one. According to Paralegal Today editor-in-chief and About.com columnist Sally Kane, one’s career as a paralegal is a great opportunity to help others. It all depends on the paralegal’s area of practice, she said. So divorce paralegals help people who wanted to claim their lives (and sanity) from their partners and so on and so forth. Those in the public interest sector, she says, can help the disadvantaged individuals to rise above their legal issues, ranging from domestic abuse to preparing wills and testaments.  

Being a paralegal isn’t just clocking the hours, filing paperworks, making research and reaping more than $40,000 in compensation a year. You’re not just an assistant to an attorney as you or most of the people around you seem to believe. If you’re passionate about law, helping others and making a difference at the same time, the paralegal profession may just be the right job for you.

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Why do we have licenses again?

Doctors need a license to operate, drivers need a license to drive, but why do cosmetologists need a license to cut hair?

According to the Bureauof Labor Statistics, barbers, hairdressers, and cosmetologists are required by ALL states to be licensed (with the exception of shampooers). Interested workers of this field should satisfy all licensing requirements set by their state board which includes graduating from a state approved school and taking up continuing education programs from time to time (2 years in most states) if they pass the examination after graduation (includes written or practical exam – both in some states). 

Workers in this industry provide hair styling and other beauty related services but they also must have the knowledge on the science of everything that they do. A lot of people can cut and color their own hair but not a lot of people have the ability to analyze the hair (texture, flexibility, porosity, etc.) and determine what kind of chemicals will be right to use for the hair – chemicals that will help the hair and not harm it. Everyone’s health is different so the requirement for certain services is different (hair, makeup, etc.). Cosmetologist’s needs to know all of the chemicals involved in the service and they should have the capabilities to analyze the condition of their client’s hair or skin health to be able to provide the right services. 

They do not just provide suggestions for certain chemicals because of personal experience; they also study the cause and effect of certain chemicals (not just the product but its components) and they also study the client. They are not doctors alright but they should know their limitations or the things they can work on. For example, they are required by law to not work with clients (or refer them to the right professional) with nail diseases that are infectious. 

Being able to cut or color hair is just one aspect of this industry and there are a lot more things that they should be skilled at or knowledgeable at that’s why they are required to have a license. Without proper license (salon needs a license, and workers need a license) you risk yourself of being penalized and even closed down. Recently, a salon owner has been reported by TheMilford Daily News to have been ordered to shut down her salon for a certain amount time, pay penalties and surrender her license. It was said that they failed to properly sterilize their tools and provide proper supervision on the use of wax.

Mistakes like those may seem to be small matters but an unsterile tool can cause infection and it may spread not just from the client to the professional but to other clients as well. That is just one of the things regulatory boards would want to happen. 

Remember not to take your license for granted and always make sure that you follow all procedures specially when renewing your cosmetology license as the required continuing education programs can help you be updated with the industry and be in line with your state requirements and help you avoid penalties and specially closures.

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Medical transcription facts

Medical transcriptionists (MT) are professionals that convert dictations and voice recordings into reports. They transcribe patient history, assessment, treatment/procedures and all records coming from doctors, physicians and healthcare professionals into medical terms and abbreviations. They work in healthcare establishments (hospitals, physician’s office, etc), some work from home and others work in offices that provides medical transcription services.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, the median pay in May 2010 for medical transcriptionists is $32,900 per year and that the employment in this field is expected to increase 6% in 2020.

You may have already noticed a couple of advertisements about the career so below are some facts about the industry:

1.    Not a lot of people are aware of what medical transcription is and its contribution to the healthcare field. Unlike other professions in the industry (such as doctors, nurses, insurance representatives, etc), they do not interact and communicate with patients.

2.    Speech recognition software will not replace medical transcription professionals. They are mainly used to aid the medical transcriptionist especially in companies where there is shortage of workers. The MT professional will still edit the report that has been generated by this technology as they still produce errors and mistakes.

3.    Getting certification (CMT) is not required but training for medical transcription is a must. This industry requires knowledge in medical terms and accuracy in reporting and people can only acquire that knowledge through training. You may chose to take the exam to be a CMT or Certified Medical Transcriptionist or Registered Medical Transcription (RMT) but not a lot of companies require them – of course this credential can be of your advantage but again, it’s not required.

4.    Medical transcription jobs in the US are not decreasing because of outsourcing companies. Medical transcription is instead being outsourced to overseas providers,     due to the shortage of professionals to hire locally.

5.    It can be a work from home job. Of course, when you just finished your training for this industry, it is going to be difficult to find an employer that will hire you for working from home. They usually choose those with experience over those newly graduates.

The same as to a lot of industries out there, if you work hard and responsibly, your work will definitely reward you fruitfully.

Resources to visit:
http://www.ahdionline.org/VisitorCenter/MTsPartnersInMedicalCommunication/AHDIAnswersFAQsAboutMedicalTranscription/tabid/243/Default.aspx
http://www.meditec.com/medical-transcription-training/
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-transcriptionists.htm

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