PRMS Blog

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has announced its latest and largest HIPAA settlement to date.  Advocate Health Care will pay a settlement amount of $5.55 million and adopt a corrective action plan to bring a lengthy OCR investigation to an end.  In 2013, the Illinois-based health system first notified OCR of the theft of four unencrypted desktop computers, collectively housin ...

Psychiatry is one of the most rewarding fields in medicine, but psychiatrists face a myriad of liability risks, especially relating to issues such as telepsychiatry, suicidal patients, medication issues, use of social media, electronic health records and more. Unfortunately, risk management strategies related to these topics are not often formally addressed during residency tra ...

Did you notice the recent Washington Post headline “The American Psychiatric Association issues a warning: No psychoanalyzing Donald Trump?” The article included many examples of psychologists and physicians (including one psychiatrist) who have never evaluated celebrities but have nonetheless commented on their mental health. No matter how tempting, especially given the someti ...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has asserted jurisdiction and, after some back and forth, found liability on the part of a laboratory for failure to protect data on its computer networks, resulting in breach of patient confidentiality. The lab’s data security practices were found to be unfair, in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Here’s how the case unfolded: A ...

Last week, Banner Health, one of the largest health systems in the country, posted notice of this year’s most substantial health care data breach.  A cyber attack affecting as many as 3.7 million patients, employees, beneficiaries, and customers was discovered almost a month after initially taking place on June 13, 2016.  The breach included patient names, addresses, and socia ...

A frequent call to our risk management helpline involves medical record retention. My standard advice of “retain as close to indefinitely as reasonably possible,” is typically met with resistance. I completely understand that paper records take up space, and it is expensive to securely store the records. However, the old saying is true – your record is your defense. One inquiri ...

We are constantly humbled by the number of psychiatrists that refer and recommend PRMS to their colleagues. In fact, our number one source of new business comes from referrals.  As a token of our appreciation, we developed our “Refer a Colleague” program to give back and support mental health. For every referral received, we provide a donation to state psychiatric associations, ...

As Mental Health Month draws to a close, it is important to collectively reflect on the significance of mental health. At PRMS, we think it is also the perfect time to highlight the mental health foundations PRMS contributes to and the important work they are doing to promote mental health. But first, a little more about Mental Health Month. Since 1949, Mental Health America (M ...

Does your medical professional liability insurance policy provide coverage for all risks associated with your practice? The practice of psychiatry is constantly evolving, causing an increase in liability risks.  Recent state mandates for physicians to use electronic health records or electronic prescribing, and the more frequent use of telemedicine as a method of treatment, ar ...

Overcast skies and chilly temperature didn’t dampen the spirits of dedicated mental health providers who took part in a recent National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Walk in New York City and Long Island. They came together to help raise funds to support mental health and to work to stamp out the stigma people affected by mental illness face. PRMS supported teams from the B ...