Like so many, I am sure you are anticipating the big day in November. Not the obvious November date of the national election, but the date of November 1 which could pose some serious compliance issues for your facility. This is the date the Federal government has issued as the deadline for the adoption and implementation of the Red Flag Rules. Which basically boils down to a review of your compliance and security programs regarding identity theft.

While reviewing the various insurance policies this year for my business, my broker and I discussed the option of an identity theft policy. It seems like every year there is a new and more specific form of insurance for just about every behavior. But this identity theft coverage carried with it a significant consequence especially for financial institutions. With further research, I found out that the healthcare industry it not immune to these regulations.

The June Business Alert summarized the key points of the upcoming regulations:

The Red Flag Rules apply to “financial institutions” and “creditors” with “covered accounts.”

A creditor is any entity that regularly extends, renews, or continues credit; any entity that regularly arranges for the extension, renewal, or continuation of credit; or any assignee of an original creditor who is involved in the decision to extend, renew, or continue credit.

Where nonprofit and government entities defer payment for goods or services, they, too are to be considered creditors.

A covered account is an account used mostly for personal, family, or household purposes, and that involves multiple payments or transactions.

The requirements of the Red Flag Rules may be contained within your HIPAA compliance program. The program should be able to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft in connection with covered accounts. There is no time like the present to revisit your compliance program and talk with your attorney regarding the applicability of the Red Flag Rules.

Source: www.hfma.org/hfm/HFM0908

Every couple years the Society for Human Resource Management surveys HR professionals on issues surrounding employment. Here's the latest from the Workplace Forecast report. Some of these findings can help you as a hiring manager plan for the future. More importantly, take a look at the past and notice how the technology worries have subsided.

Of special note, rising healthcare costs topped the list of workplace trends for the past four years. Time for some change in healthcare legislation that is for sure. But the good news is that the baby boomers are getting a second look, meaning their value in the workplace is increasing. As the talent pool and number of skilled workers shrink, more and more Boomers will put off retirement.

So how do you as a hiring manager respond to these trends?

Here are the most common actions that organizations are taking to keep and attract employees. Look at how many of the ten actions involve technology. Hope this information gives you some useful insight and planning strategies for building and retaining your employment base.

1. Offering tuition reimbursement

2. Investing more in training and development to boost skill levels of employees

3. Implementing an employee data privacy policy

4. Implementing policies and procedures aimed at protecting employee and customer identity theft

5. Nondisclosure/noncompete agreements for intellectual property

6. Investing in technology and services designed to protect company data in the event of an attack/disaster.

7. Increasing the use of technology to perform transactional HR functions

8. Increasing technology training

9. Increasing training in specialized areas

10. Implementing preventive health programs

Source: www.shrm.org/trends/visions/0308a.asp

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