Solano County Medical Society

Elizabeth McNeil, vice president of federal policy for the California Medical Association, will be the keynote speaker at the 87th Annual Joint Napa-Solano Dinner on May 23. All members of the Napa and Solano medical societies are invited to attend the dinner, which will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Gaia Double Tree Hotel in American Canyon. SCMS members are free; NCMS physicians and all guests are $40 each. To RSVP, contact Erika Goodwin at solanomedsoc@sbcglobal.net or 707-255-3622.

Nominations needed for Physician of the Year award

The Napa and Solano medical societies are soliciting nominations for the annual Physician of the Year award. The nominee must be an active member of the medical society and must have significantly influenced the public health of Napa or Solano County through his or her dedication to patients and by promoting excellence in the profession of medicine. To submit nominations, contact Maryann Eckhout at meckhout@ncms.com or 707-255-3622. Deadline is May 31.

What is cyber liability coverage?

by the Medical Insurance Exchange of California (MIEC)

Summary: The passage of the HITECH Act reminds physicians who qualify as “covered entities” that state and federal privacy and security rules and regulations must be a priority for them. Yet studies demonstrate that in spite of the ever growing number of physicians who are implementing electronic healthcare records, clinicians fail to adequately safeguard data and the devices which house it. To better protect policyholders who may find themselves faced with a data breach, physicians should consider cyber liability coverage as part of their malpractice policy.

It’s hard to believe that it has been over a decade since the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules went into effect with mandatory compliance dates of April 14, 2003, and April 21, 2005, respectively. Physicians and their staff have labored to act in accordance with these cumbersome regulations by developing and implementing policies and procedures that shield protected health information (PHI); advising patients how their PHI may be used and their right to limit access to the data; identifying business associates; safeguarding the transmission of e-PHI; and much more.

The decade that brought healthcare providers the HIPAA regulations also witnessed massive expansion into the world of technology to transmit and store PHI and promote collegial communication. Electronic healthcare records, smartphones, email, communication portals, laptops, iPads, eICUs, telemedicine, social networks, and data-storing “clouds,” just to name a few. The capability for physicians to “connect, communicate and collaborate” electronically via the HIPAA-compliant smartphone platform DocBookMD is still another example of innovative healthcare technology. (For more information about access to this MIEC and medical society-sponsored professional network, see the following story.)

Although federal and state regulators encouraged the development and use of healthcare technology, they again raised the bar of responsibility for physicians and their business associates with the passage of the HITECH breach notification regulation that went into effect on February 17, 2010. The HITECH Act reinforces the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, outlines a data breach notification process, and threatens significant fines for noncompliance.

In spite of the heightened awareness of both federal and state confidentiality rules and regulations, the 2011 Ponemon Institute “Second Annual Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security,” illustrates that healthcare data breaches are on the rise and more work needs to be done to protect PHI, computing devices, and patients harmed by data breaches:

• 96% of all healthcare providers who participated in the study had at least one data breach in the last two years;

• 49% of the respondents cited lost or stolen computing devices;

• 81% of the healthcare organizations in the study reported the use of mobile devices to collect, store, and/or transmit some form of PHI;

• 49% of the participants admit that their organizations do nothing to protect the devices;

• Only 29% of respondents agreed that prevention of unauthorized access to patient data and loss or theft of such data is a priority in their organization; and

• 90% of the surveyed healthcare organizations indicated that the breaches caused harm to patients; however, 65% did not offer protection services to the affected patients.

These statistics are disturbing; however, perhaps more disturbing are the reported costs to participants in the study. The average economic impact of a data breach was $2.2 million. While this data reflects the costs of larger organizations rather than the typical medical group, it is an indication of the expenses associated with recovering from a data breach. In addition, 81% of the 2011 Ponemon study respondents believe their organization suffered from time and productivity followed by brand or reputation diminishment (78%) and loss of patient goodwill (75%). The average lifetime value of one lost patient rose from $107,580 in 2010 to $113,400 in 2011.

Physicians should revisit the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules to ensure they are in compliance. MIEC’s Loss Prevention Department at www.miec.com has developed a number of supportive resources for policyholders to download and adapt to their practices. Helpful information can be found on the website under the Resources tab by clicking on the HIPAA materials link in the sub-navigation (Note: most information requires policyholder login). Policyholders also can call MIEC’s Loss Prevention representatives with any general HIPAA questions at MIEC’s toll free number: 800-227-4527.

Does you carrier protect you against privacy breaches with cyber liability coverage? Check with your malpractice carrier to determine what type of coverage is available. As of February 1, 2012, MIEC provides the “DataGuard” endorsement to each physician’s policy.

The DataGuard protection covers most of the types of expenses policyholders may have to pay in the event of a privacy breach with a limit of $50,000. This is a basic level of protection. Given the expenses involved in responding to a breach MIEC strongly recommends considering higher limits. MIEC offers a very simple one-page application at www.miec.com.

DocBookMD expands to entire North Bay

NCMS and SCMS members can now use the DocBookMD mobile app to send HIPAA-compliant messages to their colleagues throughout the North Bay. The new, regional version includes medical society members in Napa, Solano, Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties.

Getting started with DocBookMD is simplicity itself. Just follow the instructions below.

1. Download the free DocBookMD app from the iTunes App Store or Android Market to your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Android phone.

2. Click on Register.

3. Enter your email address.

4. Enter your state (CA) and county (Napa or Solano).

5. Enter your CMA/MMS ID number. (Call 707-255-3622 if you need your number.)

6. Create a password.

7. Answer sponsor questions.

8. Complete the HIPAA compliance agreement.

That’s it! Once you’re registered, you can send messages, images and more to your medical society colleagues throughout the North Bay. For more details, visit www.DocBookMD.com. DocBookMD is supplied at no charge to NCMS/SCMS members thanks to the sponsorship of MIEC.

Top stories from CMA Alert

Here are the top stories from the latest CMA Alert, the California Medical Association’s biweekly email newsletter. For a free subscription, visit www.cmanet.org/cma-alert.

* Urgent survey response requested: State releases plan to move all Medicare/Medi-Cal patients into managed care plans

* Attorney General speaks to CMA physicians about advocating for CURES

and ACA

* Governor Brown asks California physicians to support his tax measure on

the fall ballot

* Panel sets stage for "year of chaos" in California politics

* CMA vaccination bill clears committee

PEOPLE

Several new officers have been elected to the medical executive committee for NorthBay Healthcare. Dr. Thomas Erskine is the new chief of staff, Dr. Filip Roos is the vice chief, Dr. Kathryn Amacher is the secretary/treasurer, and Dr. James Bronk is the medical staff representative to CMA.

Dr. Irving Pike, a Virginia gastroenterologist, is the new chief medical officer for John Muir Health. Pike is president of the Gastroenterology Quality Improvement Consortium and served as a physician executive with Sentara Healthcare in southeastern Virginia for more than a decade.

RESOURCES

There will be eight CMA webinars during May, including four for CEU credit. All webinars begin at 12:15 p.m. and run until 1:15 or 1:45. To register, visit www.cmanet.org. Seminars are free for CMA members and their staff; cost for nonmembers is $99 per person. Here’s the lineup for May:

* Medicare audits (May 2; includes CEU)

* Marketing 101 (May 9; includes CEU)

* Telephone etiquette for medical personnel (May 16; includes CEU)

* California workers’ comp eBill--part 1 (May 17)

* Strategic planning for solo and group practices (May 23; includes CEU)

* California workers’ comp eBill--part 2 (May 24)

* California’s changing insurance marketplace (May 30)

* California workers’ comp eBill--part 3 (May 31)

In recognition of the two-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, CMA has launched Reform Essentials, a regular newsletter designed to provide readers with the latest developments in California’s implementation of federal health care reform. The publication is available at www.cmanet.org/resource-library. Future installments of the newsletter will include updates from California's Health Benefit Exchange Board, information on essential health benefits, and other topics related to the Affordable Care Act.

Need help improving practice efficiency and viability? Try a free subscription to CMA Practice Resources (CPR), a monthly bulletin full of tips and tools for physicians and their office staff. To subscribe, visit www.cmanet.org/cpr. The current issue includes articles on HIPAA 5010 enforcement, CPT codes, electronic prescribing, and much more.

NEW MEMBERS

Joseph Cleaver, MD, Preventive Medicine/Rheumatology, 233-1239, Napa office location pending, Univ Rome 1985

Ethan Schram, MD, Hematology/Oncology, 10 Woodland Rd., St. Helena 94574, 967-5721, UC Davis 2003

APPLICANTS

Peter P. Chua, MD, Emergency Medicine, 975 Sereno Dr., Vallejo 94589, 651-1000, Univ Oklahoma 1987

Donna Erickson, MD, Family Practice, 1 Quality Dr., Vacaville 95689

Matthew Frances, MD, Emergency Medicine, 975 Sereno Dr., Vallejo 94589, 651-1000, Brown Univ 2005

Seth Kaufman, MD, Emergency Medicine, 1200 B. Gale Wilson Blvd, Fairfield 94533, 646-5800, UC San Francisco 2002

Angela On-Kee Kwong, MD, Emergency Medicine, 975 Sereno Dr., Vallejo 94589, 651-1000, UC Davis 2003

Stephanie Lovell-Rose, MD, Emergency Medicine, 975 Sereno Dr., Vallejo 94589, 651-1000, McGill Univ 1998

Samuel Moody, MD, Emergency Medicine, 1 Quality Dr., Vacaville 95689, 624-1160, Univ Southern California 1983

Vivek Puppala, MD, Emergency Medicine, 975 Sereno Dr., Vallejo 94589, 651-1000, NY Med Coll 2004

David Ramirez, MD, Hematology/Oncology, 1 Quality Dr., Vacaville 95689, 624-3235, Boston Univ 2003

Jennifer Sperandio, MD, Family Practice, 1 Quality Dr., Vacaville 95689, Tulane Univ 1992

ABOUT NCMS & SCMS

The Napa County Medical Society (NCMS) and the Solano County Medical Society (SCMS) are both 501(c)(6) nonprofit associations that support local physicians and their efforts to enhance the health of the community. Both NCMS and SCMS are affiliated with the California Medical Association and the American Medical Association.