March 2023 Newsletter

In the News This Month

Greetings Everyone,

As the healthcare industry becomes more dependent on technologically, there are many new risks that need to be considered. As these risks increase healthcare organizations will need to adapt to new regulations and guidelines implemented to continue to provide quality care and protect patient information.

Our feature article, "Cybersecurity Risks in the Health Care Industry", by Denise Smith, Senior Consultant, highlights statistics of this growing problem, what some of the risks are, as well as suggestions for discussions on how to prevent a cyber-attack from happening. Look for more information to come on what to do to prevent an attack within your organization.

Another growing trend in healthcare is Telemedicine. Our second article, "Regulatory Considerations for Telemedicine Services", authored by Chris Pratt, Senior Consultant & Accredited Provider Program Director outlines what to look for to ensure your program aligns with current regulations as well as give thought to additional changes in regulations and guidance that should be expected.

We hope you find these articles informative and helpful in assisting you with your ongoing regulatory readiness. Please feel free to reach out to us at info@courtemanche-assocs.com with any topics you would like to see featured or for any service needs you may have.

Doctor using secure internet to access documents

Feb 28 2023

Cybersecurity Risks in the Health Care Industry
What are the Recent Statistics Related to Cybersecurity? Recently there has been a lot of news about cybercrime related to hospital IT systems. Here are some of the statistics related to healthcare cybersecurity. 89% of organizations experienced a cyber-attack in the past year. The average cost of a data ...
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About the Authors

Denise Smith, RN, BS, MS, CLNC, HACP-CMS

Denise Smith is a Senior Consultant with Courtemanche & Associates. In this role she is responsible for assessing healthcare organizational readiness for licensing, certification, accreditation, and regulatory compliance. She has extensive knowledge in the requirements of The Joint Commission, DNV, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services including knowledge in their survey process, auditing approach and survey outcome determination. She also has knowledge and experience in AAAHC and other regulatory and accreditation organizations. She assists organizations with survey preparation, educational needs, post survey activities, patient safety strategies and quality improvement initiatives. Denise has more than 40 years of experience and expertise in Infection Prevention, Sterile Processing, Legal Nurse Consulting, Quality and Resource Management, Clinical Education, in acute inpatient and outpatient care settings.

Denise Smith, Senior Consultant
Doctor and patient on a telemedicine call.

Feb 28 2023

Telemedicine Regulatory Considerations Post-Pandemic
With the onset of the pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented waiver authority under section 1135 of the Social Security Act to relax requirements of section 1834(m)(1) of the Act and 42 CFR § 410.78 for use of interactive telecommunications systems to provide telemedicine services.  ...
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About the Authors

Christopher Pratt, MS, BSN, HACP

Chris Pratt is a Senior Consultant with Courtemanche and Associates with more than 33 years in clinical and leadership experience working in varying healthcare positions from the bedside to the Boardroom. In this role, he is responsible for assessing healthcare organizations’ readiness for licensing, accreditation, and regulatory compliance. He is trained in the survey process, auditing approach and survey outcome determination utilized by The Joint Commission, DNV, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and other regulatory agencies and accrediting organizations. He assists organizations with post-survey activities, education, patient safety strategies, and quality improvement initiatives and has experience in various health care settings including acute care, behavioral health, and ambulatory care settings.

Courtemanche & Associates Healthcare Consultant Chris Pratt

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The Joint Commission® is a registered trademark of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Courtemanche & Associates has no affiliation with this entity.

Courtemanche & Associates | (704)-573-4535 | Email: info@courtemanche-assocs.com

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