Welcome to your daily briefing on healthcare developments in Iowa. Today we're covering 9 key stories including updates on iowa healthcare headlines, iowa healthcare updates, background & context. Let's dive in.
5 stories
Iowa HHS provides high quality programs and services that protect and improve the health and resiliency of individuals, families, and communities.
IA healthcare professionals can leverage these state resources to enhance patient outcomes and strengthen community health initiatives.
The State of Iowa now offers online services to verify professional licensure and search inspection and survey records.
Healthcare professionals in IA can quickly confirm credential status and access facility records to ensure compliance and inform hiring or partnership decisions.
The Iowa Public Health Tracking Portal serves as a centralized source for public health data on conditions, treatment, and initiatives.
Healthcare professionals in IA can leverage this consolidated resource to inform clinical decisions, track disease patterns, and align practice with state health initiatives.
The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing maintains a dedicated portal for health facility and program licensing information.
Healthcare professionals in IA can use this portal to verify compliance requirements, facility classifications, and program regulations affecting their practice.
The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals licenses, certifies, and inspects various types of health care facilities across the state.
IA healthcare professionals should understand DIAL's regulatory scope to ensure their facilities maintain compliance and avoid survey deficiencies.
Reach healthcare professionals
1 story
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Joint Commission ID #8266, has maintained its ventricular assist device destination therapy certification with re-certification dates spanning from 2010 through October 14, 2022.
For Iowa cardiologists and cardiac surgery teams, this sustained certification ensures continued local access to Medicare-approved mechanical circulatory support for end-stage heart failure patients who are not transplant candidates.
3 stories
A vendor is a business associate if they create, receive, maintain, or transmit PHI on behalf of the covered entity. They are NOT a business associate just because they happen to be in a building with PHI or could conceivably access it. The functional test matters, not the proximity test.
Forcing BAA execution on vendors who do not meet the functional test creates contractual bloat and weakens the negotiating position with vendors who actually do. Failing to execute BAAs with true business associates exposes the covered entity to OCR enforcement.
The No Surprises Act good-faith-estimate requirement applies to all licensed providers offering services to self-pay or uninsured patients — not just hospitals or large groups. The estimate must be provided within timeframes that vary by how far in advance the appointment is scheduled.
Patient-provider dispute resolution under NSA typically defaults to the patient when the practice cannot produce a timely good-faith estimate. The penalty is the full disputed amount being struck.
Covered entities must annually recertify their 340B eligibility through HRSA. Missing the recertification window pushes the entity to inactive status, which means immediate loss of 340B pricing and potentially diversion violations on previously dispensed drugs. Reinstatement requires a new application.
The discount value of 340B pricing for a covered entity often exceeds six figures annually. Letting the recertification lapse for paperwork reasons is one of the most expensive administrative errors in the regulation.
Get Iowa healthcare intelligence delivered to your inbox every morning.
Subscribe FreeView all past issues
Feature your brand across the U.S., Canada, and select international markets and 10 industry verticals.
Become a National Partner