Pettigrew recognized for program to protect patient privacy, prevent medical billing fraud, and comply with federal regulations
(Washington) – Today the Healthcare Business Management Association (HBMA) announced that Pettigrew is now accredited under the HBMA Compliance Accreditation Program for revenue cycle management (RCM) companies (a.k.a., medical billing and medical practice management companies) and offered its congratulations. The HBMA Compliance Accreditation Program is designed to assess compliance with a range of federal healthcare industry regulations, including provisions to protect patient privacy under HIPAA, promote cybersecurity, and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in medical billing.
PETTIGREW is a RCM company based in Athens, Georgia. “It gives me great pleasure to know that our commitment to compliance is realized throughout every level of our company. I acknowledge that this accreditation is the result of the great teamwork which has characterized PETTIGREW from our founding until now.” said Richard Pettigrew, Compliance Officer of PETTIGREW.
“HBMA understands that medical billing and revenue cycle management companies operate in a complex, highly regulated profession, fraught with high consequences for fraud, waste and abuse. By achieving HBMA compliance accreditation, (Pettigrew) has demonstrated by independent evaluation that their practices surpass federal requirements to protect confidential patient medical information, secure their data systems, and prevent fraud,” said Jennifer Hicks, president of HBMA.
The HBMA Compliance Accreditation Program is the result of the RCM industry coming together within HBMA to establish a process to independently assess the participating company’s program to fulfill its obligation to meet regulatory requirements. The HBMA Compliance Accreditation Program assesses compliance with HIPAA and with Health and Human Service Office of Inspector General compliance standards on fraud, waste and abuse; the Stark Law, which is designed to prevent conflicts of interest by medical providers in their prescribed patient care; federal Anti-kickback law; and the OIG work plan. The assessment under the HBMA Compliance Accreditation Program includes a comprehensive evaluation of the policies and practices of RCM companies with respect to employee training; security risks, including the security of confidential patient health information; documentation storage and handling; practices to promote compliance with federal regulations; disaster and emergency preparedness plans; and human resources practices, including background check procedures and onboarding.
The program was announced in April 2018 and was officially launched in October 2018 after beta testing by four HBMA member companies. Since that time, 35 companies have achieved HBMA compliance accreditation.
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About Pettigrew
PETTIGREW is an RCM company based in Athens, Georgia that has provided services to medical practices of varying specialties across the United States since 1989.
About the Healthcare Business Management Association (HBMA)
HBMA is a non-profit, member-led trade association of companies that support doctors and other medical providers by handling their medical billing and revenue collection processes, services known as revenue cycle management (RCM). HBMA works with legislative stakeholders and federal agencies in Washington, D.C. to improve the business of medical billing and the practice of healthcare. Since its inception in 1993, HBMA and its members have encouraged professional development and adherence to the HBMA Code of Ethics, advocated on behalf of the RCM profession, and promoted business development through educational events, networking opportunities, certification programs, and a wide range of affiliated vendor resources. For more information about HBMA, visit the www.hbma.org.