Many community health care centers have been exempt from certain reporting requirements under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), but that rule is changing effective January 1, 2015. It is important to review the OSHA changes and make sure you are compliant with all state level and federal regulations.
Bureau of Primary Health Care: Reorganized!
Attendees of the 2014 CHAMPS/NWRPCA Fall Primary Care Conference were among the first to learn of some significant upcoming changes at BPHC. On Tuesday October 21, citing feedback from grantees and others, HRSA Associate Administrator Jim McRae addressed a packed plenary and described the pending reorganization.
Preventing EHR-Related Medical Errors at Your Health Center
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past week (and if you have been, no judgment here), you know that an Ebola-infected patient is currently being treated in a Dallas, Texas hospital. (Update: Patient died on Wednesday, October 8th.)
Last Thursday, news was released that the patient was not diagnosed correctly during his initial contact with Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital because of a workflow flaw in the health system’s EHR. The flaw involved the travel history section of the patient record. The patient had mentioned that he had been in Liberia, but this information was only viewable in the section that the nurses accessed, not the physician-accessible section of the record.
Increased mental health funding for FQHCs makes forming partnerships with Community Mental Health Centers more important than ever
If You Want Satisfied Patients, Treat Them Like Dogs
FQHC Hiring Tips: The Conditional Offer of Employment (How to Do It Right and Avoid Future Headaches)
The Importance of a Gift Acceptance Policy for an FQHC – Part 4 (Charitable Auctions)
Dueling Rulings: What the Conflicting Circuit Court Decisions on ACA Subsidies REALLY Mean.
Two Federal court rulings on one day have helped add to the already chaotic atmosphere surrounding the ACA implementation. Potentially affected are millions of lower and middle income Americans living in 34 states which utilize the federally run insurance exchanges. Three judges of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in favor of allowing the IRS to offer promised subsidies, while a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a split decision, ruled they could not. The case is likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but that decision could be a year or more away. Meanwhile, what's a country to do?
Employee Classification Changes Coming Your Way: Overtime Compensation Costs Could Rise
Do you struggle with determining if a position is exempt or non-exempt from overtime? If so, pay attention because in March President Obama issued a directive to the Department of Labor (DOL) to simplify regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Sweeping changes are expected to be announced in November 2014 that include significant emphasis on how overtime exemptions are determined for executive, administrative, and professional employees commonly referred to as “White Collar Exemptions.” These changes, which do not necessitate congressional approval, could increase your organization's overtime compensation costs.