A bi-weekly newsletter from your physician organization
Friday, July 2, 2021
New tip sheets available for adult, pediatric HEDIS measures
Updated coding and quality tip sheets are available on the Learning Institute section of The Physician Alliance's website. Some of the updated information includes:


Click here for more resources, including past education videos, newsletters and more.
Prescription assistance program helps with patient compliance
Rx for Miracles is a HIPAA-compliant prescription assistance program to help patients afford prescription medications.

Unlike insurance programs, there are no income, residency/citizenship, age, pre-existing condition, deductible, or waiting period restrictions. The program is designed to help patients who do not have prescription drug coverage or who have coverage, but are subject to large deductibles, large co-pays, dosing limitations, gaps, and/or any cash out-of-pocket expenses.

Highlights include:

  • Free prescription coupons/cards for physician clinics in English/Spanish (order cards for your practice)
  • Savings up to 80% on medications (brand and generic medications are eligible for a discount)
  • No exclusions / No paperwork
  • HIPAA compliant / Privacy secure
  • Accepted at over 68,000 pharmacies nationwide

Rx for Miracles also makes a a donation to the nearest Children's Miracle Network hospital for each prescription processed through the program.
Minimize breach risks from third-party vendors
Are your vendors creating risk for your practice?
Unfortunately, the answer is probably ‘yes’. All too often, vendor risks and contracts are not managed correctly.

In the last six months of 2020, almost 75% of reported breaches were tied to third-party business associates.

It’s no secret that modern medical practice relies on many business associates and data management vendors, especially with the increase in electronic protected health information (e-PHI). It is essential to make sure that your vendors are protecting your data and your patients’ data.

How can you ensure your data is protected?

First, a good contract is essential to protecting you from HIPAA breach liability. Aside from detailing the work to be performed and the payment terms, your vendor contracts should also cover topics such as:
  1. What due diligence should be performed;
  2. How often a vendor’s security performance should be monitored;
  3. How audits should be performed; and
  4. How the data is actually secured.

Having a lawyer help negotiate effective vendor contracts and Business Associate Agreements can help reduce liability for the healthcare provider.

With healthcare breaches on the rise, it is more important than ever to ensure that your data is secure.

Vendors should be able to tell providers what measures are in place to protect data. They should have strong technical controls, along with strong procedural controls. Procedural controls include custom code, custom programming, and ensuring that the code and programming are from the same standards that you have. Your Business Associate Agreement should also protect your data.

Make sure you keep your Business Associate Agreements updated as your practice needs evolve.

Business Associates are directly liable for breaches to the same extent as covered entities, but your Business Associate Agreement needs to clearly set out their liability.

Source: Rickard & Associates, one of TPA’s Affiliate Partners, offers a myriad of legal solutions to healthcare providers, including vendor contracts. Contact Lori-Ann Rickard at (586) 498-0600 or info@larlegal.com.
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Ways you can save
Featured Affiliate Partner: MEDICAL ANSWERING SERVICES: Ambs Call Center provides exclusive offers to TPA members on services, including no set up fee, 1st month free, discounts on monthly plans and more.

Learn more about this partner.