HIPAA: A Quick Checkup for Medical Practitioners

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If you’re a medical practitioner, you’re probably well aware of HIPAA, but you may not be up to speed on every aspect surrounding HIPAA compliance.

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information. HIPAA also comprises of the HIPAA Security Rule, which sets national standards for the security of electronic protected health information and confidentiality provisions of the Patient Safety Rule, which protects identifiable information being used to analyze patient safety events and improve patient safety.

Medical practice owners or employees who are delegated to manage compliance need to be fully aware of the HIPAA policy and procedures, since a single violation of compliance can result in fines capable of crippling your cash flow. These necessary yet time-consuming compliance checkups are a crucial component to any business.

Can you or your compliance-responsible employee answer the following 5 questions?

  1. What kind of personally identifiable health information is protected by HIPAA privacy rule?
  2. Who do HIPAA security and privacy regulations apply to? Is it just you, the practitioner? Or your entire office including administrative support and nurses?
  3. A patient of yours was transferred from your facility to the hospital 4 days ago and the hospital just called requesting the patient’s information. Are you permitted to release patient information to the personnel at this hospital over the phone?
  4. How do copies of patient information need to be disposed of?
  5. Are you permitted to access your own medical record through the office computer?

If you missed even one of these questions, it may be time to engage a professional employer organization (PEO). In order to stay up to speed on compliance and human resources management, you may need to dedicate up to 25% of your day if not more on non-patient activities like administration!
Worst of all, HIPAA is just one area of compliance amongst 180 federal laws that the Department of Labor (DOL) administers and enforces.

Many medical practice owners choose to engage a PEO for the sole purpose of ensuring employer compliance. In addition to the many other benefits PEOs provide, PEOs protect – against costly lawsuits, against compliance failure, and against preventable workplace mistakes/accidents.

To learn more about HIPAA, compliance, and other employment-related administration and management solutions, contact Employer Solutions Plus. We’ll help you determine which areas of your business require the most attention, and whether or not those areas need to be managed by a PEO.

 

Selecting a Payroll Service Provider

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The time has come. You want to avoid tax penalties that can easily affect your bottom line, and stick to what you do best, which is not payroll! Selecting a payroll service provider will streamline the payroll process and significantly limit your personal investment of time and effort toward administrative tasks.

But where does one begin? There are countless options for outsourcing when it comes to payroll. Employer Solutions Plus recommends the following when selecting a service provider.

First, make a list of payroll-related services you believe your company needs. Below is a list of examples:

  • Calculation of payroll and tax obligations for each employee (how many employees do you have?)
  • Direct deposit
  • Automatic check signatures
  • Check printing
  • Quarterly and annual tax form preparations
  • 401k/Section 125 fund plans
  • Integrated or specialized software

When meeting with a payroll service provider:

  • Ensure the company offers all payroll services requested
  • Request client references
  • Request a written contract stating who is responsible for penalties due to late or non-filed taxes
  • Confirm how local taxes are calculated and who is responsible for paying them
  • If you are filing electronically yourself, what assistance will be provided by the payroll company?

Pricing: Beware of the fine print! Payroll service providers typically charge a standard fee per pay period in addition to a small fee per check issued, but employers may find themselves faced with additional fees when it comes to year-end W2s, set-up fees, adding employees, dropping employees and more. Be sure to request a proposal that outlines any and every cost including future costs for services that are not needed at this exact time.

A PEO may be a more cost effective solution than a payroll-only service provider if you have other HR and employee administration related tasks to be outsourced, since PEOs often build payroll administration into their all-encompassing HR support contracts. Whether or not your company can benefit from PEO services can be determined upon an analysis of your employee management needs. If a PEO solution is in fact a good fit, Employer Solutions Plus has a separate list of recommendations for selecting a PEO.

Running through this process with multiple service providers is a lot to handle on top of your current day to day operations, which is why Employer Solutions Plus manages the entire vendor selection process on behalf of its clients.

Employer Solutions Plus is skilled at determining which payroll outsourcing solution is the best fit for your company – whether that is a payroll-only solution, or a comprehensive full suite employee administration solution such as a PEO.

We represent multiple providers in each product category– This allows us the flexibility to customize a cost effective solution to meet the individual needs of our clients.
Please contact us today to learn more about payroll administration solutions.

Wage & Hour Compliance in Tampa

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Are you a Tampa business owner foggy in the field of wage and hour compliance? You’re not alone.

The United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD) oversees the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in Federal, State, and local governments.
But, some states have minimum wage rates higher than those outlined in the FLSA, while others have minimum wages rates that are the same or less than those outlined in the FLSA.

Did you know:

Nationwide: Non-exempt workers are entitled to a minimum wage of not less than $7.25 per hour. Overtime pay at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay is required after 40 hours of work in a workweek.

State of Florida: Minimum wage is increased annually based upon a cost of living formula and is currently $7.67 per hour with a minimum wage of at least $4.65 per hour for tipped employees, in addition to tips.

Employees who are not being compensated fairly have the right to file a complaint about an employer’s alleged noncompliance with lawful minimum wage requirement as well as inform any person about the employer’s alleged noncompliance. Employee rights are protected under the State Constitution, but, who’s protecting you, the employer?

Many Tampa businesses rely on the support of a professional employer organization (PEO) when it comes to wage and hour compliance. In addition to HR administration, benefits, payroll, and insurance, PEO clients gain increased protection from ever-changing wage and hour compliance.

Partnering with a PEO gives you the advantage of working with a well-informed team of HR professionals each and every day, and PEOs often bring more streamlined and integrated technology to the table, for improved wage and hour reporting. Many PEO’s also provide EPLI Insurance to help protect employers against wrongful lawsuits pertaining to wage and hour disputes.

To learn more about PEO and wage and hour compliance solutions in Tampa, contact Tampa-based Employer Solutions Plus at 727-698-6207.

Adding Attorneys to Your Practice in Various States

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Does your law firm operate in multiple states? If so, you’re well aware of the strict guidelines that come alongside practicing law in each particular court system. Each US state has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission, which can lead to different admission standards among states. For the owner of a law firm trying to grow his/her business and add employees in multiple states, this process can quickly become a headache.

You may be thinking “I should simply hire an attorney that is already admitted to the bar in whatever state I’m looking to do business in.”  That will certainly save you some time from having to ensure an existing employee can pass the bar in the new state, and then relocate to serve the clients of that state.

But, bar admissions aside, adding an employee in a new state comes with its own laundry list of HR and compliance-related tasks. Each state has its own reporting requirements surrounding new hires.

Did you know that PEOs can eliminate half of the burden?  Through the co-employment relationship, the owner of a law firm focuses on growing his/her business, and the PEO manages all compliance and HR administration.

PEOs provide integrated services to effectively manage employer risks for law firms. PEOs help offset certain risks to their clients’ businesses by contractually assuming certain employer rights, responsibilities, and risk.

A PEO will provide guidance on employment regulations and reporting requirements in addition to answering any questions regarding hiring, firing, compliance and recruitment. They will also put together employee handbooks and employment procedure manuals for your new employees.

If your practice is interested in expanding and operating in multiple states, contact Employer Solutions Plus first. You may be able to eliminate an HR headache before it ever exists!  Employer Solutions Plus provides critical information to business owners regarding new hires and PEO support.