New York Naturopathic Physician Continuing Education

• Perform professional advertising and marketing that passes state and federal legal restriction.
• Comprehend requirements for advertising testimonials, press releases, television, radio, Internet, personal solicitation and other marketing initiatives.
• Comprehend the limits of commercial speech (advertising) within the arena of professional healthcare marketing and dissemination of information.
• Train staff and implement policies associated with marketing initiatives and materials vis-a-vis state rules, regulations and statutes.
• Comprehend issues associated with signage, listings, letterhead, and other matters of ostensible agency that may lead to liability.
• Administer professional marketing such that it neither misleads, confuses nor exploits members of the public.
• Discuss how nutritional supplementation labeling and HIPAA affects professional healthcare marketing efforts.
• Undertake a review of marketing materials and initiatives so as to ensure compliance with relevant state rules, regulations and statutes.
• Administer coverage decisions, professional referrals, and communicate same in a manner that limits professional liability.

• Analyze charges and documentation on a daily or per visit basis to ensure accuracy and compliance
• Compile accurate and comprehensive responses to documentation or record requests
• Recognize and avoid confusing HIPAA privacy issues that can cost you time and money
• Identify key areas that lack written policies causing increased risk in the practice
• Evaluate your current written procedures and appraise the need for additional content

Hour 1

• Identify various types of billing irregularities and impact on healthcare expenditures.
• Distinguish upcoding from bundling within the context of irregular billing schemes.
• Demonstrate how and when exceeding a state’s scope of practice becomes “the unauthorized practice of medicine.”
• Explain the restrictions states’ scopes of practice place on healthcare providers’ authority to treat and diagnose patients.
• Discuss how invoicing unrendered medical services impacts third-party payers.
• Interpret chiropractic boards’ positions on testimonial advertising and how best to comply.

Hour 2

• Identify what constitute a false claim under the False Claims Act.
• Discriminate a kickback from a self-referral.
• Trace how anti-kickback legislation arose and examine its prohibitions.
• Explain the enactment of Stark legislation arising on the heels of anti-kickback bans.
• Assess providing nutritional counsel within the context of “the practice of medicine.”
• Evaluate identity theft and its impact on patients, providers and the cost of healthcare.
• Discriminate between illegal copayment waivers from proper hardship waivers.
• Discuss court cases instancing successful prosecution of healthcare fraud.

• Identify the 18 PHI Identifiers
• Awareness of other HIPAA related documentation and the appropriate retention period
• How to confirm retention period for healthcare records
• Recognize required security measures and their value to practice risk management
• Implement policy and protocol for compliant and secure disposal of records

• Be able to identify the definitions of Fraud, Waste and Abuse and how they may show up in day-to-day practice
• Become aware of the source of overpayments, including not-medically necessary care, maintenance care, and active treatment
• Apply the guidance from the OIG to your state and carrier regulations since they are a resource to these groups
• Recognize insufficient documentation and incorrect coding before the billing takes place
• Implement the action steps recommended by the OIG to eliminate incorrect documentation, billing and coding practices to reduce compliance risk

• Distinguish between fraud, waste and abuse
• Review and properly utilize your Medicare Local Coverage Articles (LCA)
• Integrate critical compliance requirements for minimum, mandatory, annual self-audits  
• Detect common billing protocols that are red-flags for third-party auditors and chiropractic boards of examiners

• Identify the expected standards of a compliant and complete patient medical record
• Audit documentation to ensure the most important details are present
• Analyze and correct for the four most commonly missed components of appropriate documentation
• Apply the federal requirements for Medicare documentation and use this knowledge to initial and routine patient visit documentation

• Assess limits of state, federal and board authority regarding the prohibition of solicitation of patients by, and on behalf of, chiropractors. 
• Explain distinctions between general marketing and intrusive solicitation, and the reasons for the regulation of each
• Demonstrate how the courts protect businesses’ right to advertise and how they discourage deceptive practices. 
• Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate/illegal marketing relating to fees and professional services. 
• Examine criminal and civil laws associated with overly aggressive chiropractic advertising.

• Classify circumstances that trigger Good Samaritan laws for chiropractors.
• Restate duties imposed upon people in the United States to render aid to others in dire circumstances.
• Compare a doctor’s versus a lay person’s duty to render aid to someone in distress.
• Explain principles and philosophical underpinning Good Samaritan laws.
• Discuss the Bystander Effect.and scientific studies that unearth reasons why people are reluctant to render aid/assistance to others in emergency situations.
• Summarize the role compensation, expecting to get paid, plays in the operation of Good Samaritan laws.
• Locate states that impose a duty to render assistance, and those states that remove Good Samaritan law protection from hospitals.
• Identify protections offered under various states’ Good Samaritan Laws.
• Express the relaxation of professional standards, and what behaviors are shielded from liability, under Good Samaritan laws.

• Recognize and execute the rules to avoid inducement violations
• Define what you CAN give away for a first visit that will not break the rules. 
• Implement compliant initial visit screening services as part of a new patient offer
• Apply risk management rules to avoid offering free services to some and not others
• Modify your current marketing strategy to attract new patients while being compliant

• Identify ethical and legal prohibitions against patient deception, misinformation, exaggerating healthcare cures, guaranteeing treatment results, and dishonesty.
• Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate communications and medical file entries describing patients' healthcare prognoses and progress.
• Explain scientific literature linking patients' attitude and mental states to healthcare outcomes.
• Illustrate placebo-enhancing doctor-patient interactions that comply with states' prohibitions against deception and misinformation.
• Give examples where ethical patient encouragement authentically fosters positive mental states that promote desired patient outcomes.
• Express why patient communications must be consistent with medical file entries regarding prognoses and patient progress.
• Explain office procedures and staff training likely to optimize health-promoting ethical patient communication and the documentation thereof.

• Identify which portion of the complex regulation applies to their practice
• Recognize proper use of a Good Faith Estimate vs Balance Billing Protection form
• Formulate customized forms and training tools to meet regulatory guidelines
• Adopt best practices and regulation standards during the patient intake process

• Discuss the public’s increased use of health data-gathering devices and its effect on dispensing healthcare by professional healthcare providers.
• Identify sources for state authority to regulate the practice of healthcare in the various states.
• Explain states’ prohibition against the unauthorized practice of medicine and identify points where data collection and subsequent evaluation may encounter this prohibition.
• Compare courts’ interpretations of state scopes of practice laws as they relate to the various stages of a doctor-patient encounter.
• Distinguish data collection from activities that may include preliminary evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment - while identifying their relevance to state scopes of practice.
• Analyze how courts interpret activities that may constitute the unauthorized practice of medicine, as distinguished from those that do not.
• Discuss obligations to refer people to other healthcare providers based upon determinations and/or diagnoses related to observation, examination, and evaluation of collected data.
• Distinguish boundaries regarding data collection versus the unauthorized practice of medicine.
• Recognize the public's rights to information and free speech protections.

 Part 1

• Discuss the costs of fraud and financial crime
• Review the technology trajectory and how this affects fraud
• Quote Honesty studies
• Identify behaviors related to cheating

Part 2

• Review the criminological and behavioral theories of fraud in healthcare
• Explain key aspects of the psychological of fraud
• Identify aspects of sociology related to fraud
• Examine: Biological school of criminology

Part 3

•  Examine victimology and victim behavior
• Discuss internal fraud and trends
• Examine opportunity reduction
• Be aware of red flag and fraud indicators

 Part 4

• Apply human based preventative and detection strategies to avoid fraud
• Use technology based preventative and detection strategies to avoid fraud
• Use vulnerability assessment preventative and detection strategies

• Compare the various Responsibilities that patients owe to the doctor-patient relationship
• Describe the doctor-patient relationship as a dynamic one that relies on the active participation of patient and doctor alike, and enlists aspects of trust in order for the interaction to render optimal benefits.
• Recognize how the Hippocratic Oath contributed significantly to the development of chiropractic patient rights
• Discuss the historical evolution of Patients' Rights in the United States and their application to chiropractic
• Explain the various Patients’ Rights
• Present case studies to illustrate how patient rights and responsibilities can be applied in practice.
• Analyze how Patient Obligations contribute to the success of the doctor-patient interaction and can favorably impact patient outcomes.
• Explain how chiropractors’ efforts to enhance profitability could negatively impact both public perception and the bottom line.

• Appreciate the significance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in transforming the healthcare industry.
• Recognize the potential benefits of AI in improving diagnosis accuracy and treatment outcomes.
• Identify how AI can streamline administrative processes, such as scheduling appointments, billing, forms, and managing patient records.
• Explore compliance with laws and regulations when using AI and chatbots in advertising, including rules around data collection and use
• Understand the challenges of determining who owns the copyright for content generated by AI systems
• Evaluate the importance of keeping up-to-date with technological advancements in healthcare for quality patient care and practice management
• Comprehend the challenges regarding patient data privacy and security associated with AI.

• Recognize different forms of social media and how clinics can benefit from using social media
• Appreciate the risks of using social media and how to avoid any pitfalls
• Develop policy and procedures to protect patient information when using social media
• Ability to identify commonly overlooked risks when communicating to patients on third-party software platforms

• Distinguish Constitutionally-protected expression contributing to a healthy marketplace, from defamatory reviews that damage doctors and impede intelligent consumer activity.
• Explain what triggers patient complaints and discuss how their constructive information improves healthcare services.
• Identify how patient complaints can compromise doctors’ health, devastate their businesses, impede professional performance, and compromise patient outcomes.
• Express how doctors may shape doctor-patient relationships so as to reduce the likelihood and frequency of patient complaints.
• Illustrate how a doctor's proactive remedial behavior can mitigate the incidence and severity of formal disciplinary actions and litigation generally.
• Explain the power traditionally ascribed to word-of-mouth recommendations and how current social media review systems leverage this power.
• Discuss how the Consumer Review Fairness Act restricts prohibitions against posting negative reviews.
• Describe how a complaint navigates a state Board disciplinary process and factors regarding appeal.
• Illustrate the financial and reputational costs that attend doctors responding to negative complaints and/or initiating litigation against patients.

• Evaluate sample forms including contract, informed consent, treatment plan and intake - and draft forms that clearly distinguish between standard care and potential contractual guarantees.
• Identify the key elements that can transform a doctor's statement into a contractual guarantee (e.g., specific results, use of positive language like "cure" or "fix").
• Define the concept of a doctor-patient contract and distinguish it from the standard of care in medical malpractice.
• Describe the legal ramifications of a doctor breaching a contract with a patient (e.g., damages, potential for longer statute of limitations compared to malpractice).
• Analyze case studies to identify instances where a doctor's communication with a patient may have created a contractual obligation.
• Effectively communicate treatment options and limitations to patients, avoiding language that could be misconstrued as a contractual guarantee.
• Apply your knowledge of doctor-patient contracts to real-world scenarios, such as consultations, advertising materials, and treatment plans.
• Critically assess the advantages and disadvantages of relying on formal contracts in the doctor-patient relationship.

• Explain the anatomy and functionality of healthy soft tissue components
• Explain the effects of injury on soft tissue
• Define effects of injured soft tissue on functionality of the spine and extremities
• Discuss patterns of musculoskeletal relationships of recruiting other structures after injury and their effects on functionality
• Describe various methods of treatment for dysfunctional soft tissue
• Explain relationship of injured tissue to its surrounding structures, its effects and treatment
• Explain compensation and recruitment of healthy tissue to the broader scope of complications and the effective treatment of primary and now secondary effects of injury
• Describe rehabilitation exercises in relation to proprioception

• This contains all courses with the educational objectives listed from Soft Tissue Injuries 101 to Soft Tissue Injuries 104 

• Explain the types of soft tissue
• Demonstrate and discuss diagnostic evaluation of soft tissue injury
• Explain pain patterns of neurological injury for differential diagnosis
• Discuss types of soft tissue injuries
• Evaluate soft tissue changes associated with pain
• Discuss the mechanisms of healing soft tissue injuries
• Describe diagnostic tools in determining soft tissue injuries
• Explain the use of ice and heat in soft tissue injuries
• Demonstrate and discuss stretching; passive, active and postfacilitation
• Demonstrate and discuss somatic technique
• Demonstrate and discuss strain/counterstrain
• Demonstrate and discuss friction massage
• Demonstrate and discuss Postisometric relaxation
• Demonstrate and discuss electrical muscle stimulation and ultrasound
• Demonstrate and discuss triggerpoint ultrasound in treatment
• Discuss massage therapy
• Demonstrate and discuss myofascial release
• Demonstrate and discuss active release
• Demonstrate and discuss Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT)
• Discuss cold laser therapy
• Demonstrate and discuss exercise rehabilitation and muscle strengthening
• Discuss mobilization and manipulation

• Explain the structural anatomy of the shoulder and its soft tissue
• Explain the functional anatomy of the shoulder and its soft tissue.
• Demonstrate the active and passive examination of the shoulder and soft tissue.
• Describe pathological conditions of the bony structures, joints, ligaments, tendons, bursa and muscles of the shoulder
• Describe sports injures to the shoulder.
• Describe injuries to the nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the shoulder.
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for pathological conditions of the bony structures, joints, ligaments, tendons, bursa and muscles of the shoulder.
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for the nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the shoulder.
• Define functional relationships of the shoulder with associated regions

• Explain the structural anatomy of the elbow, wrist, and hand and associated soft tissue
• Explain the functional anatomy of the elbow, wrist, and hand and associated soft tissue
• Demonstrate the passive examination of the elbow, wrist, and hand and associated soft tissue
• Demonstrate the active examination of the elbow, wrist, and hand and associated soft tissue
• Describe pathological conditions of the bony structures, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, fascia, bursa and nerves of the elbow, wrist, and hand
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for pathological conditions of the bony structures of the elbow, wrist and hand
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for the joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, fascia, bursa and nerves of the elbow, wrist and hand
• Define functional relationships between the elbow, wrist and hand and with other regions

• This contains all courses with the educational objectives listed from Soft Tissue Injuries 105 to Soft Tissue Injuries 107 

• Explain the structural anatomy of the bones and joints of the cervical spine, ligaments and muscles of the cervical spine and the nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the cervical spine
• Explain the functional anatomy of the bones and joints of the cervical spine, the ligaments and muscles of the cervical spine and the nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the cervical spine
• Demonstrate the passive examination of the bones and joints of the cervical spine, the ligaments and muscles of the cervical spine and the nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the cervical spine
• Demonstrate the active examination of the bones and joints of the cervical spine, the ligaments and muscles of the cervical spine and the nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the cervical spine
• Discuss imaging of the cervical spine
• Discuss advanced testing of the soft tissue of the cervical spine
• Describe pathological conditions of the bony structures, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the cervical spine
• Explain the mechanism of acceleration/deceleration impact
• Explain the effects on the cervical spine from acceleration/deceleration injury, and specifically the effects on the soft tissues structures
• Explain the grading system for acceleration/deceleration injury
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for the pathological conditions of the bony structures, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, blood vessels, nerves and fascia of the cervical spine
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for the sequela of acceleration/deceleration injury
• Define relationships of the cervical spine with other regions

• Explain the structural anatomy of the TMJ and its soft tissue
• Explain the functional anatomy of the TMJ and its soft tissue
• Demonstrate the passive examination of the TMJ and soft tissue
• Demonstrate the active examination of the TMJ and soft tissue
• Describe pathological conditions of the bony structures of the TMJ
• Describe pathological conditions of the joints of the TMJ
• Describe pathological conditions of the ligaments of the TMJ
• Describe pathological conditions of the muscles of the TMJ
• Describe injuries to the nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the TMJ
• Describe injuries from acceleration/deceleration impact to the TMJ
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for the joints of the TMJ
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for the ligaments of the TMJ
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for the muscles of the TMJ
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for the nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the TMJ
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for acceleration/deceleration injury to the TMJ
• Define functional relationships of the TMJ with associated regions

• Explain the structural anatomy of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the thoracic spine and rib cage
• Explain the functional anatomy of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the thoracic spine and rib cage
• Demonstrate the passive examination of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the thoracic spine and rib cage
• Demonstrate the active examination of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the thoracic spine and rib cage
• Discuss imaging of the thoracic spine and rib cage
• Describe pathological conditions of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the thoracic spine and rib cage
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the thoracic spine and rib cage
• Discuss relationships of the thoracic spine and ribs with other regions

• Explain the structural anatomy of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the lumbopelvic spine
• Explain the functional anatomy of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the lumbopelvic spine
• Explain biomechanics of the lumbopelvic spine
• Demonstrate the passive examination of bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the lumbopelvic spine
• Demonstrate the active examination of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the lumbopelvic spine
• Discuss radiographic imaging of the lumbopelvic spine
• Discuss advanced testing of the soft tissue of the lumbopelvic spine
• Describe pathological conditions of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the lumbopelvic spine
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for the pathological conditions of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the lumbopelvic spine
• Define relationships of the lumbopelvic spine with other regions

• Explain the structural anatomy of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the hip and knee
• Explain the functional anatomy of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the hip and knee
• Explain biomechanics of the hip and knee
• Demonstrate the passive examination of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the hip and knee.
• Demonstrate the active examination of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the hip and knee
• Discuss radiographic imaging of the hip and knee
• Discuss advanced testing of the soft tissue of the hip and knee
• Describe pathological conditions of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the hip and knee
• Demonstrate soft tissue treatments for the pathological conditions of the bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, bursa, nerves, blood vessels and fascia of the hip and knee
• Define relationships of the hip and knee with other regions