Agenda / Content Covered

All times are shown in Eastern time

1. How to Request Medical and Billing Records
   10:00 - 11:00, Mila Carlson
   1. Types/Components of Medical Records
   2. What to Ask for, How and Who to Contact
   3. Finding Additional Patient Information
   4. Handling Problematic Providers (Refuse to Release, Won't Release in a Timely Fashion)
   5. Sample Requests for Production
   6. Subpoenaing Medical Records
   7. Tracking Medical Records and Bills
2. HIPAA Compliance, Policies to Protect PHI and Breaches
   11:15 - 12:15, Mila Carlson
   1. How HIPAA Impacts Paralegals
   2. Defining Protected Health Information; Other Key Terms
   3. Using HIPAA-Protected Documents in Litigation
   4. When Providers Produce Records for the Wrong Patient
   5. Keeping HIPAA-Protected Records Safe - Tips for Paralegals
   6. HIPAA and Electronic Communications (Email, Texts, etc.)
   7. Ways PHI Breaches Can Occur (What You Don't Know)
   8. Policies/Procedures - Protecting PHI in the Office and at Court
3. Organizing Medical Records (Real-World Examples)
   12:15 - 1:00, Susie McGregor-Huyer
   1. Effectively Sorting and Organizing Records
   2. Case Study Examples: How to Best Organize Medical Records From Three Different Facilities
   3. Finding Missing Records and Additional Providers
   4. Identifying Duplicates; Other Issues
   5. Scanning and Bates Stamping
4. Reviewing Medical Records and Billings
   1:30 - 2:30, Susie McGregor-Huyer
   1. Medical Symbols, Terminology and Abbreviations - Handout and Resources
   2. Coding and ICD-10: What Paralegals Need to Know
   3. Effective Approaches to Reviewing Medical Records
   4. What to Look for, Where to Find it
      1. Hospital Records
      2. Records/Treatment Logs
      3. Emergency Service Records
   5. Objective vs. Subjective Findings
   6. Finding Discrepancies; Signs of Tampering
   7. Handling Problematic Medical Notes
   8. Deciphering the Billing
   9. Using Nurses/Medical Experts to Make Sense of the Medical Records
   10. Top 5 Details Paralegals Miss
   11. Go-to Medical Research Resources
   12. Sample Checklists; Additional Resources
5. Electronic Medical/Health Records (EMRs/EHRs)
   2:30 - 3:15, Mila Carlson
   1. Strategies for Obtaining EMRs
   2. Organizing and Reviewing
   3. EMR Metadata/Audit Trails
   4. Assessing EMR Accuracy/Inaccuracy
   5. Preparation; Handling Computer Screen vs. Printout Discrepancies
6. Preparing Medical Summaries and Chronologies (w/Samples)
   3:30 - 4:00, Susie McGregor-Huyer
7. Medical Record Ethics
   4:00 - 5:00, Susie McGregor-Huyer
   1. The General Rule of Confidentiality for Medical Records
   2. Mandatory Disclosure
   3. What You Can/Cannot Disclose (and to Whom)
   4. Questions of Access
   5. Guarding Against Breach of Confidentiality
   6. Ethical Preparation of Medical Evidence and Experts

Accreditation Details:

MILA CARLSON, PHD, MSHSA, R.N., CNLCP®, is the founder and president of Mila Carlson & Associates, P.C., Nurse Consulting/Nurse Life Care Planning, based in Rockford, Illinois. They assist defense or plaintiff attorneys with any medical-related cases, such as medical malpractice, personal injury, criminal or family law; as well as preparing life care plans/medical cost projections/Medicare set-asides (MSAs), and providing expert witness testimony for these plans. Ms. Carlson has served as adjunct faculty for the University of St. Francis. She is a member of the Alpine Kiwanis Club of Rockford and has served on the Board of Directors as well as the Charities Committee. Ms. Carlson's professional affiliations include the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants, the American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners, and the National Alliance of Medicare Set-Aside Professionals (NAMSAP). She earned her nursing degree from the SwedishAmerican Hospital School of Nursing, Rockford, Illinois; her Bachelor of Science in health arts and Masters of Science in health services administration from the University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois; and her Ph.D. degree in health administration from Warren National University, Cheyenne, Wyoming. Ms. Carlson also completed her legal nurse consulting course and certification exam through the Vickie Milazzo Institute and her Life Care Planning and Medicare set-aside courses through Kelynco. She is a frequent lecturer to both paralegals and attorneys on her areas of practice and ethics.

SUSIE MCGREGOR-HUYER, R.N., M.S.N., is with MH Consultants. She has been involved in healthcare since 1990, first as a paramedic, then as a nurse. Although her initial work roles included emergency nursing and ICU, and in 2003 she began hospice work, where she eventually moved into leadership roles including administration and consulting. Ms. McGregor-Huyer now provides life care planning, legal nurse consulting services and nursing education consulting services in Minneapolis/St. Paul and across the country. She also works part-time as a nursing director in the assisted living/memory care arena. Ms. McGregor-Huyer's legal nurse consulting practice specializes in products liability, personal injury, medical malpractice, and nursing home negligence cases, where she provides attorneys and their teams with analysis on the medical issues of their cases. She has held certifications as a legal nurse consultant and hospice and palliative care nurse. Ms. McGregor-Huyer is currently eligible for certifications in forensic nursing, life care planning, risk management and Medicare set-asides. She earned both her B.S.N. and M.S.N. degrees, gaining significant experience in both outpatient and inpatient settings in a variety of roles. Ms. McGregor-Huyer is a frequent lecturer for National Business Institute on various medical related topics, including legal ethics for paralegals.