MT India Digest - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MTID
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Moderated by: Published by:
Amit Chatterjee, SM MT India
amit@... www.MTIndia.org

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Feb 01, 2003 Digest #097
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ADVERTISEMENT
--------------------------
US MT company for sale
--------------------------

Turnover of $50,000/month with 600 doctors on board. Owner is
unable to manage as he has other business. Expected price of
$600,000 which would include all technical equipment and business.
Based in NJ.

Contact: Maj (Dr) Amit Chatterjee, SM <amit@...> within 15
days

.....IN THIS DIGEST.....

=============NEW=================

-=Think BEFORE you "Buy yourself a Job!"=-

~Soumya Mukherjee
"cowboys" have sprung with less-than-ethical deals to exploit
nervous, naive people"

-=US India Political Action Committee=-

~Sanjay Puri
"India's positive economic growth makes it an attractive partner"

===========CONTINUING============

-=HIPAA=-

~Mayukh Kumar
" The HIPAA law applies only to covered entities (CE), however CEs
must have a business associate contracts with all nonemployees"

===========BILLBOARD============

-=Updated Information on DHHS Privacy Conferences=-

~Stanley Nachimson

*****************************************************************
From: Soumya Mukherjee <itssm@...>
Subject: Think BEFORE you "Buy yourself a Job!"

Dear friends,

A franchise work at home opportunity, can be an effective solution.
or a total disaster. Like any business, it's ultimately a question
of motives - why you decided to "buy a job" in the first place.

When you cut through all the hype and emotional appeal, what a
franchise work at home opportunity really offers is a solution to
the three biggest failures of small business:

1. Lack of business know-how - Most people attempting to run a
small business simply don't know how to run a business - and won't
admit it. A franchise offers business expertise and proven
solutions.

2. Insufficient start-up capital - The initial cost of the
franchise includes the amount the franchisor knows will be needed
to do the job properly.

3. Inadequate cashflow - The franchise system is geared to create
cashflow and optimize profits through branding, marketing,
administration, etc.

Done properly, a franchise system offers as high as a 90% plus
chance of survival - the exact opposite of the survival rate of
small business.

Sadly, in recent years, "cowboys" have sprung with
less-than-ethical deals to exploit nervous, naive people who see
franchising as the heaven-sent answer to their fears about
security. The concern is, always, whether the franchisor is
ethical, and whether the figures supporting his claims are
legitimate. Too many aren't! For some franchisors, the main source
of ongoing profit is to regularly terminate and resell existing
franchises.

Their victims tend to be former bureaucrats (from both public and
private organizations) who've been retrenched or taken early
retirement, housewives and the unemployed or poorly compensated.
They're afraid of the failings of small business, so they rush
headlong into deals that sound great, but with inadequate domain
knowledge or skill to distinguish between the good, the bad and the
downright ugly! So lack of business know-how still sinks them.

What they don't realize is that, "buying yourself a job" offers no
guarantee of prosperity - or even survival. The truth tends to be
that, just like a job, "buy yourself a job" means exchanging your
personal freedom for an illusion of security. The REAL choice is
limited to either staying in or getting out. Many end up feeling
trapped and frustrated, but are unwilling to leave for fear of
losing everything they've invested.

No matter how good a particular franchise system may be, when you
sign the franchise agreement and hand over your money, you
effectively take on a new boss who calls the shots and pulls the
strings while you put your money (and your hard work) on the line.
You're really just a branch manager of the franchisor's
organization who takes all the risks in order to build the
franchisor's security.

Talk to ex-franchisees about their experiences. Horror stories
abound about kick-backs to franchisors from suppliers (over whom
you have no choice - you're simply told who'll supply you and at
what prices), inability to extract payment for your work from
franchisors, misrepresentation of facts and figures, arbitrary
extensions of working hours and conditions and lots, lots more.

It all comes down to motives - Are you considering buying a
franchise because you're motivated by fear? In other words, is
security the main criterion on which your choice will be based. If
so, beware! Fear is the worst possible motive for going into
business, because it's not a motive at all. It's pure emotion.

Fear prevents you making rational, objective, unemotional business
decisions. Don't lose the plot. Don't run so fast and hard from
what you think are the risks in small business that you run
straight into the waiting arms of a franchisor who may, in reality,
represent an even bigger risk once the deal is done.

Here's a final, food for thought:

If the real reason we go into business is to minimize our time and
effort and maximize our income, who do you think achieves this most
successfully in franchising?

Is it the franchisee?

Or is it the franchisor?

Remember S. Kumars.com? You shall see the light!:)

Regards,

Soumya Mukherjee
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

++++ new post - different topic ++++

From: Sanjay Puri <spuri@...>
Subject: US India Political Action Committee

Dear Dr. Chatterjee & MTIDers,

The US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) held a series of
meetings, on January 28, with key US Congressional leaders on
security, trade, and issues of concern to the Indian American
community. The USINPAC delegation comprised of leading Indian
Americans from across the country representing diverse backgrounds,
including aerospace, financial, pharmaceutical, medical, IT, and
policy analysis.

The delegation first met with Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN),
Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a meeting
lasting over 90 minutes as part of its "Breakfast on the Hill"
initiative, followed by meetings with Senator John Warner (R-VA),
Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Representative
Tom Davis (R-VA), Chairman of Government Reform Committee.

USINPAC shared the concerns of the Indian American community
regarding emerging threats to US security with Senator Lugar, and
proposed an expansion of US-India strategic ties at a time when
United States' military is stretched globally due to obligations in
the Balkans, Persian Gulf, East Asia and Afghanistan. Given the
fact that the US and India share values of democracy, secularism
and pluralism, it is critical that these two countries work
together to promote global stability.

Senator Lugar noted that the United States seeks to further engage
India in addressing global problems such as Iraq. Recognizing the
growing ties between US and India, Senator Lugar emphasized that
shared democratic values contributed to the formation of close
relationships. India's positive GNP growth, at a time when most
economies are in recession, and continued market reforms, make it
an attractive partner. Commenting on India's bid for a permanent
seat on the UN Security Council, the Senator stated that the US
realizes that the world order had changed dramatically since the
end of the Second World War, and therefore it is appropriate to
examine the future governance of the United Nations.

While preventing weapons of mass destruction from falling in hands
of terrorists remains a top US priority, Senator Lugar informed
USINPAC that he would soon hold hearings on exporting dual-use
technologies to friendly countries such as India. In response to a
question regarding the lack of protection for intellectual property
rights in pharmaceutical research and development, the Senator
mentioned that settling such issues would require tough bilateral
negotiations.

The USINPAC delegation also met with Senator John Warner (R-VA) and
apprised him of the community's deep interest in expanding US
defense ties with India to foster a long-term alliance to address
the joint threats facing both countries. Senator Warner lauded the
role of the community in fostering closer ties between the United
States and India.

The meeting with Representative Tom Davis focused on the small
business and government procurement policies. Representative Davis
briefed the USINPAC delegation on his efforts to ensure that
government procurement rules are streamlined to ensure that
taxpayers' dollars are efficiently utilized to minimize waste,
fraud and abuse. Recognizing the entrepreneurship exhibited by the
Indian American community, particularly in information technology,
Representative Davis urged the community to suggest mechanisms for
furthering his efforts to streamline procurement rules.

USINPAC is continuing to expand its Capitol Hill outreach to senior
Congressional leaders. USINPAC has already met with Senator Orrin
Hatch (R-UT), Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), and Representative
Robert Wexler (D-FL). USINPAC's agenda for February includes
celebrating the India Caucus Day on February 13, 2003. The India
Caucus Day will feature meetings with the current and past,
Chairmen of the Caucus on India and Indian Americans, followed by
an evening reception for Congressional staffers.

The US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) is a bipartisan,
national political action committee (PAC) of the Indian American
community. Based in Washington, DC, USINPAC is a strong and clear
voice on Capitol Hill. USINPAC's mission is to impact policy on
issues of concern to the Indian American community

Sanjay Puri
Executive Director
703.488.6880
http://www.usinpac.com
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com
===========CONTINUING============

From: Mayukh <mayukh_11@...>
Subject: What exactly HIPAA is ...

Dear Anul Shelke & MTIDers,

<I would like to know what exactly HIPAA is. Why is that the US
Department of Health and Human services feel it would not be safe
to out source work to people who work from home?>(MTID #096)

Your statement is not quite correct. The HIPAA law applies only to
covered entities (CE), i.e. health plans, health care clearing
houses and health care providers.

A CE must also have business associate (BA) contracts with all
nonemployees (MTSOs, independent contractors (ICs) including MTs
working from home) that contractually hold the BA responsible for
having policies and procedures in place that safeguard the PHI
(protected health information) that they have access to while
performing its job duties for the covered entity.

Since HIPAA requires CEs to do business only with BAs who can help
the CE be compliant, BAs need to have policies and procedures in
place so that a client is reassured that HIPAA protocols are
understood and applied by the BA.

Here are some aspects that need to be addressed under HIPAA, by
Indian MTSOs or ICs (the BAs):

1) Policies and procedures need to be documented and adhered to,
something similar to ISO protocols.

2) Work areas, need to be physically separate, so that only those
who "need to know" have access to PHI. Physical and access security
measures like locked doors, drawers are mandatory. Data on
disks/paper/fax need to be physically protected and destroyed after
use.

3) The PC/LAN should be ID, password, virus and firewall protected.
LANs need double/multiple firewall & password protection - one at
the server, the other at the workstation.

4) Encryption software/server/client protocols are mandatory during
electronic transfers, both when sending audio and text files over
the www.

5) Datawarehousing of reports for clients should be only on the
CE's requirements, and security measures as above strictly
followed.

6) Business associate contract elements:

a. The (PHI) will be held strictly confidential and shall not be
used or disclosed except as specifically provided for in the
contract or as required by law.

b. All appropriate safeguards will be implemented and maintained to
prevent use or disclosure except as permitted by the agreement.

c. Within a specific period of time after discovery, the BA would
report to the CE any and all disclosures not permitted in
this agreement.

d. Ensure that all employees, agents, subcontractors agree and
adhere to the same conditions and restrictions as the BA.

e. Upon termination of the contract, all PHI must be destroyed or
returned.

7. BAs should screen employees or subcontractors before hiring with
background checks (police verification), and ensure adequate
training in privacy and security procedures as above, and have
separate confidentiality agreements with them.

The HIPAA rules and guidance material can be downloaded free of
charge.

References and learning materials can be obtained from web sites of
AAMT, MTIA, AHIMA etc.

Regards,

Mayukh Kumar
Production Manager
TranscriptAsia
Comment? mailto:MTID@yahoogroups.com

===========BILLBOARD============

From: Stanley Nachimson <SNachimson@...>
Subject: Updated Information on DHHS Privacy Conferences

Dear All:

Below is the latest information on HHS' National HIPAA
conferences - note the Chicago and NY links are now available, and
we set up a special mail box for ADA related requests.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be
convening four National Conferences on the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
These one-day conferences will be held in San Diego, Atlanta, New
York, and Chicago. The conferences are designed to provide an
unprecedented opportunity to hear from and interact with officials
who developed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and will be responsible for interpreting
and enforcing the rule. The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will
provide an expert faculty who will answer questions from attendees
during question and answer sessions following their presentations.

What you will learn:
* The principles underlying the Privacy Rule.
* How the Privacy Rule creates a national floor of privacy
protections
* Who is a covered health care provider
* The implications of being an affiliated covered entity, a hybrid,
or in an organized health care arrangement
* "Business associate" issues
* What type of information is protected under the HIPAA Privacy
Rule and what is meant by the terms "use", "disclosure", "minimum
necessary", and "incidental disclosures"
* The Notice of Privacy Practices requirement
* When it is necessary to obtain an authorization to use or
disclose PHI
* The right of patient to access, amend, and obtain an accounting
of disclosures of patient health information
* When to use an authorization for research and when research may
be conducted without an authorization
* How research authorizations pre-dating the compliance date are
treated
* Appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards
* The requirements to train the workforce on covered entity
policies and procedures
* The OCR compliant investigation and compliance review authority

REGISTRATION:
Information on registration, including registration fees, for the
individual conferences can be found below:

San Diego, California - Wednesday, February 5, 2003
Co-sponsored with the University of California
To register online, please click on the link below:
http://www.cvent.com/EventManagement/Summary/Summary.asp?code=&eCod
e=iktlikbilrdiieqlihiiloviikrlik&type

(Please paste the entire link (both lines) into your browser to
insure that you reach the site correctly)

Or for registration questions, contact Jill Collier at 858-822-4770
or e-mail at jcollier@...

Atlanta, Georgia - Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Co-sponsored with Emory Healthcare at Emory University and The
Morehouse School of Medicine

To register online, please click on the link below:
http://www.gynob.emory.edu/rtc/conferences_hipaa.html
Or for registration questions, contact 404-523-1996 ext 102, or
e-mail jbsurre@...

Brooklyn, NY - Saturday, March 1, 2003
Co-sponsored with SUNY Downstate Medical Center

To register online, please click on the link below:
http://www.downstate.edu/hipaa.
Or for registration questions, contact 718-270-2422, or e-mail
ocme@...

Chicago, Illinois - Sunday, March 2, 2003
Co-sponsored with WEDI and Finch University of Health Sciences-The
Chicago Medical School
To register online, please click on the link below:
http://www.wedi.org/snip/public/articles/details%7E57.htm
Or for registration questions, contact Lisa Berretta at
703-391-2743, or e-mail lberretta@...

Stanley Nachimson
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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