Scott

HIPAA Breach Results in Highest Settlement in OCR History

Posted on by Scott Moore

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced earlier this month that is has entered into the largest settlement agreement in the history of the Department with Anthem, Inc., the largest Blue Cross and Blue Shield health benefit companies in the country.  Anthem, Inc. agreed to pay $16 million to HHS and take substantial corrective action to settle numerous potential violations of both HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules after it exposed protected health information (PHI) for nearly 79 million people. In March 2015 Anthem filed a breach report with OCR after they discovered that their Information Technology (IT) systems were infiltrated by cyber-attackers who had gained access to their systems after an Anthem employee opened a phishing email.  This email released an undetected continuous persistent threat attack that permitted the cyber-attackers to access their systems from December 2014 through the end of January 2015.  This attack opened access that ultimately resulted in the PHI of nearly 79 million people to be stolen. OCR’s investigation revealed that Anthem failed to conduct an enterprise-wide risk analysis.  Additionally, OCR determined that Anthem “failed to have sufficient policies and procedures to regularly review IT system activity, identify...

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4 Tips: Add Empathy to EMS Care

Posted on by Scott McConnell

Empathy is about trying to understand, as best we can, someone else’s situation or experience. The question is, do we in EMS truly understand the word? Are we empathetical to ourselves and to the people we work with? While some say that empathy comes from proper upbringing, today’s decline in civility means we see less and less of it displayed. A major contributing factor is the “tough” exterior we favor in each other: how often have you heard comments like “come on, just suck it up buttercup,” “you need to be tougher than that to be a medic,” or “we’re EMS, we eat our young.” Why are we like this, and why can’t we reinforce the empathy that naturally resides in all of us? Empathy is a big part of our jobs, and we need to teach it to our students, our employees and each other. People need to feel that it’s OK to be empathetic and that it’s a natural part of the whole EMS picture. One of the best techniques to foster empathy is active listening — not only to our patients but also to staff and co-workers. When you actively listen, you H.E.A.R. …  Halt: Stop whatever (more…)

Your EMS Reputation Depends on Three Cs

Posted on by Scott McConnell

Your EMS Reputation Depends on Three Cs—Credentials, Courtesy, Community In EMS, your reputation is critical. Your character moves with you from provider to provider and from squad to squad; EMS is a small world where people know about you before you even step foot in the door. People react to you based on judgments from not only real life, but also your digital life. With Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and other social media networks so prevalent today, your social media profile serves as the basis of your reputation both professionally and privately. Unfortunately, social media blunders abound among EMS providers, affecting their reputations and their future hiring ability. You can find hundreds of examples doing a quick online search; here are just two. Three South Carolina responders fired for making statements like “idiots shutting down I-126. Better not be there when I get off work …” (Kaplan, 2016, para. 3) A Brockton, Mass. dispatcher who said of a pregnant overdose patient, “She needs to be left to rot …” (Shephard, 2018, para. 5) A better way to think of your reputation is the “Three Cs” — Credentials, Courtesy and Community. Credentials may also be called Continuing Education, as it’s vital to...

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Make a Difference: EMS and Human Trafficking

Posted on by Scott McConnell

When we think of trafficking, we generally think of drugs or weapons, not human beings. Yet the problem exists in numerous communities where EMS responders deliver care. Human trafficking is defined by the United Nations as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means for an improper purpose.” (End Slavery Now, 2018, para. 1) A more succinct definition comes from Kathryn Brinsfield, MD, MPH, Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Homeland Security: “Human trafficking is modern-day slavery.” (DHS, 2017, para. 3) Why is this so important in today’s EMS field? We are the first on scene, we are the ones invited inside where others are not and we are the ones who see an injured person’s environment.  Our interactions with others can help us spot some of the tell-tale indicators. Unfortunately, there are many reasons people are trafficked: Domestic Slavery: People are brought into private homes to work as slave labor, with no options to leave. Sex Trafficking: Children, men and women are forced into the commercial sex industry Forced and Bonded Labor: People are forced to work under the threat of violence for no pay — often to repay (more…)

Changing the Face of EMS for the New Century

Posted on by Scott McConnell

EMS has always been the forefront of medicine, delivering care to the sick and injured in various roles dating as far back as the Civil War. It has come a long way from the days of horse and buggy. Yet, where are we going now? One look at the trajectory of Nursing indicates where we are headed. When Nursing first started, the profession was comprised of caring women who were viewed and treated as indentured servants, subservient to the male dominated physicians. Nursing evolved when the “servant” became educated. What followed were thousands of women beginning to diagnose, conduct research and improve outcomes in the healthcare field. Soon thereafter, they broke free of the care assistant model they were in. I see EMS following the same path. The ambulance industry started out as transporters, with a curriculum that was adopted and funded by the Department of Transportation (DOT). The industry has roots in DOT, Police Departments, Fire Departments and the military, but are truly physician extenders that should be firmly rooted in Health Departments. EMS is now developing a language, doing research, obtaining national accreditation for our schools, even supporting continuing education with CAPCE. But we need to do more. (more…)

Is Narcan the Answer?

Posted on by Scott McConnell

There has been a lot of talk recently in social media and the news about leaving Narcan behind after a reversal of an opioid overdose. A new voluntary program in Pittsburgh, PA allows the state to pay for Narcan atomizers that EMS can leave with friends and family of OD patients. The media buzz revolves around the idea that we are enabling this cycle of addiction; “There is some pushback that maybe you’re enabling the problem a little bit, but at least in the short term, reduce the chances that person is going to die and you create more opportunities to get them into treatment,” said Mark Pinchalk, patient care coordinator for Pittsburgh EMS.” (Media, 2018, para. 3) I agree with Mr. Pinchalk that as an EMS Provider we are not there to judge, we are there to render aid. One of my early instructors said, “Scott, your purpose is to leave the patient better than the way you found them.” I have taken that long ago statement to heart ever since, trying to leave the patient better than the way I found them whether that is medically as in a Diabetic whose blood glucose I raise from 20mg/dl to (more…)

Patient Satisfaction and the Collections Conundrum

Posted on by Ted Williams

Emergency Strikes The year was 2001—seems like a distant memory. Expecting our first child, my wife and I were living in Modesto, California, thinking about cradles and nurseries. We were so excited—the little one we’d been expecting was on his way! Excitement quickly changed to deep concern as we learned there were some major complications with the pregnancy and our baby was in serious jeopardy. Life’s pause button was pushed as everything else in the world came to a screeching halt. An ambulance transport and emergency delivery later, we found ourselves in our new home—the neonatal intensive care unit. For the next four months, we worked with medical teams around the clock to slowly usher our new 1-pound, 4-ounce son, Noah (now 15 years old), into the world. Financial Domino Effects This was an incredibly stressful time in our lives. Of all the things that burdened us, one of the most memorable was the nearly $5,000 invoice we received for a specific service. With no clue how we would pay this, I finally worked up the courage to pick up the phone and call the number on the invoice. The provider was demanding immediate payment before sending the bill to...

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