June 2019

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Thank you for your support!

WOA Board

Nate Edwards- President
Chris Jons- President-Elect
Jonathan Hartley-Treasurer
Jeremy Nett-Secretary
Sam Hoffman- Director
Jamie Hazen-Director
Joe Maycock- Past President
 

NROC Registration Open



July 10-13, 2019
Cody, WY

Featured OD Speakers:
Eric Schmidt, OD, FAAO
Valerie Kattouf, OD, FAAO
Whitney H. Hauser, OD, FAAO

OD AGENDA

CLICK HERE for more information
 

Happy Birthday!




Happy Birthday! 

Coby Ramsey- 19
Douglas Hodgson- 24
Emily Stickelberger- 25
Randy Waddell- 27


If you don't see your birthday listed please update your profile on the website!

WOA Member Benefit: "HIPAA and Social Media: Growing Your Practice" Webinar


WOA Member Benefit: "HIPAA and Social Media: Growing Your Practice" Webinar
 
HIPAA compliance and social media can lead to some of the most common misunderstandings that doctors of optometry face when promoting their practice online.  Social media content should never include information that can be used to identify individual patients or their medical records. This kind of data is considered Protected Health Information (PHI) under HIPAA.
 
A practice with an effective HIPAA compliance program in place will have:
  • Social media policies and procedures to ensure that no PHI is improperly shared
  • Patient authorization forms allowing you to post personal testimonials or information with documented consent
  • Annual employee training so staff members understand what they can and cannot post on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn
 
Take advantage of this WOA member benefit where AOAExcel’s HIPAA compliance partner, Compliancy Group, outlines how to communicate to patients in a HIPAA compliant manner, so that you can grow your practice and keep your patients' information safe in this exclusive upcoming webinar for AOA members.
 
WHAT?  Webinar HIPAA and Social Media: Growing Your Practice
WHEN?  Thursday, June 6th at 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PST
 
Register Here
 
Compliancy Group gives eye care professionals confidence in their compliance with a total HIPAA solution to address the full extent of the regulatory requirements. With guided support, clients are given the tools they need to maintain the privacy and security of health care information, all while growing their business. As a member benefit, members receive three additional months free, included with a one-year subscription. Compliancy Group is dedicated to helping eye care succeed.
 
For more information about Compliancy Group, and the HIPAA resources available to WOA members through AOAExcel, please visit ExcelOD.com/HIPAA-compliance.
 

WOA Board Planning Retreat

The WOA Board recently met for their annual Spring Planning Retreat.  Thank you to President Nate Edwards for organizing a fabulous couple of days at the Crazy Rainbow Lodge.  

To read the minutes CLICK HERE


Joe Maycock and Sam Hoffman enjoying a bit of fishing before getting to work.  The photo may or may not be photoshopped... 




 

Class Action Settlement against NBEO

Mastercard and Visa have settled a massive class-action case against NBEO. The settlement class includes more than twelve million merchants, some of whom may include state affiliates. The settlement class includes 'all persons, businesses, and other entities that have accepted any Visa-Branded Cards and/or Mastercard-Branded Cards in the United States at any time from January 1, 2004 to January 25, 2019 ...' (with some exceptions). The settlement website may be visited here for further information: https://www.paymentcardsettlement.com/en. The following link is a helpful FAQ section regarding this payment card interchange fee settlement via the official court-authorized settlement website: https://www.paymentcardsettlement.com/en/Home/Faq.
 
Contact information is provided on the settlement website for follow up information. Be alert to any communication from third parties who are not the official settlement administrators or attorneys for the plaintiff's class. Your entity may be provided a claims form and asked whether your association will be a part of the settlement or whether your entity would like to be excluded. That is a decision that is entirely up to your entity (if you feel your entity may seek to sue for more money as opposed to what may come your way in this settlement, you would opt out). It is up to each entity to determine if the time involved filling out claims forms is worthwhile. As of now, the deadline to exclude the entity from the settlement / deadline to object to the settlement is July 23, 2019. In the meantime, you may visit the settlement website and/or wait for a claims form to come your way if your entity is eligible.
 
Here is another article for more context.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-18/visa-mastercard-reach-6-2-billion-settlement-over-swipe-fees
 
 
WOA Newsletter - June 2019