It’s Your Call – November 2023

HIPAA: Who can be fined under the Information Blocking Rule and what are the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) priorities?

Only certain entities are currently subject to an OIG information blocking penalty. They are:

1. Health IT developers of certified health IT
2. Entities offering certified health IT
3. Health information exchanges
4. Health information networks

These penalties began on September 1, 2023, and OIG will not be imposing penalties for any blocking conduct that happened prior to that date. They also expect they will be receiving more complaints than they will be able to initially investigate. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, OIG will use the following priorities to select cases for investigation:

• Resulted in, is causing, or had the potential to cause harm,
• Significantly impacted a provider’s ability to care for patients,
• Was a long duration,
• Caused financial loss to Federal health care programs, or other government or private entities, or
• Was performed with actual knowledge.

OSHA: Our state has no rules on ionizing radiation exposures. What are the rules and common citations under Federal OSHA?

OSHA requires that employers protect staff from exposures to ionizing radiation when it is not regulated by the Nuclear Regular Commission, other federal agencies, and/or state agencies.

To avoid common OSHA citations under 29 CFR 1910.1096,  an office must:

• Ensure that occupational dose limits are not exceeded (1910.1096(b) and (c)).
• Survey radiation hazards in order to comply with the standard (1910.1096(d)(1)).
• Supply appropriate personal monitoring (e.g., dosimeters) (1910.1096(d)(2)).
• Post caution signs, labels, and signals (1910.1096(e)).
• Provide instruction to personnel and post-operating procedures (1910.1096(i)).

More information can be found on the website for your local medical and dental boards, OSHA, and other regulatory agencies.