Those who have already bought the posters  are in 100% compliance with the posting requirement.   This new posting is still expected to go into effect … just at a later date than expected.

Posters ordered at this time are in compliance with the requirement that nearly all private-sector employers  notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by posting a notice.

The National Labor Relations Board has recently issued a rule that requires nearly all U.S. businesses to post a notice to employees communicating their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Covered employers must replace their federal poster by November 14, 2011, to remain in compliance.

The new posting is mandatory regardless of your company’s union status. It applies to both union and non-union workplaces alike.

The easiest and most effective way to protect your business is with the ComplyRight™ Federal Poster. This convenient all-in-one poster includes the new NLRB notice and the six other mandatory federal postings. Another option is the ComplyRight Federal and State Kit. This poster set meets every federal and state requirement to keep your business in full compliance.

The deadline to comply is November 14. A word of caution: Noncompliance can be treated as an “unfair labor practice” and can be used as damaging evidence in a lawsuit.

Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the situation.

FAQs

Q: What if my business is non-unionized? Do I still have to comply?
A: Yes, this new poster is mandatory regardless of your company’s union status. It applies to union and non-union workplaces alike.

Q: You said “nearly” all employers have to post the new notice. What are the exceptions?
A: At this time, the requirement does not apply to agricultural, railroad or airline employers — or the U.S. Postal Service. In addition, some very small businesses and retailers may be exempt. If you believe your company falls into this category, confirm with your accountant or financial professional. Noncompliance can be treated as an “unfair labor practice” and can be used as damaging evidence in a lawsuit. 
 
Q: Is this a separate posting?
A: No, it is included on the federal poster with the other required notices, such as OSHA, Federal Minimum Wage, etc.

Q: How large is the poster?
A: The laminated poster is 24” x 32.75”.

Q: Is there an electronic posting requirement?
A: Yes, if you typically post company policies on an Intranet or Internet site, you must post this notice there as well. Our poster includes a URL where you can download a free electronic copy. The URL is contained in an employer note on the printed poster.

Q: Do I need to post this in Spanish?
A: This notice must be posted in other languages if 20 percent or more of your workforce is not proficient in English. The Spanish version of the NLRB posting is included on the ComplyRight™ Spanish Federal Poster.

Q: What is the fine for not posting?
A: There is no specific fine connected with this posting. However, noncompliance can be treated as an “unfair labor practice” and can be used as damaging evidence in a lawsuit. There are fines, however, attached to the other required federal postings — OSHA, for example. You can be fined up to $17,000 per location for not displaying current federal notices.

It takes only a small amount of effort to create and follow a procedure in your office to ensure that all ink and toner cartridges are recycled. First, draft a simple policy stating that 100% of cartridges will be recycled effective on, say, October 1. Educate your entire staff (doctors included) that this is the new rule, and designate a box (or several, if your office is large) for everyone to deposit their used cartridges. Assign one person to monitor the box and be in charge of recycling on a regular basis. It’s really that simple.

As of mid-September, Medical Arts Press® is making it easier for offices to recycle used cartridges. Customers can request a postage-paid mailing label or shipping box to return their used, undamaged cartridges. To sweeten the deal even further, practices that use this free service will receive $2 in Medical Arts Cash for each cartridge they return. This is credit that can be applied to purchase any product the company offers. What a deal. Click here for details.

Recycling is great, but reducing waste from the get-go is even better. You can cut down on the number of ink and toner cartridges you use each year by following some of these simple tips.

• Think before you print. If you can work effectively from what you’re seeing on the screen, whether that’s information from a Web site, an e-mail, patient data, or a document you’re editing, try to do so
• Proof your work carefully before printing to reduce the need for second or third copies of the same document.
• Set your printers to draft, economy, or low resolution mode until you really need to print in the highest resolution.
• Before making copies, consider how many you really need. How often have you shown up at a staff meeting with copies of the agenda or a new policy, only to find that half the people in the room had already printed their own?

If you don’t already have a comprehensive program in place to recycle mixed paper, glass, cans and plastic, use this new opportunity to keep ink and toner cartridges out of the landfill to jump start an office-wide initiative to go green.

To order Florida prescription blanks click here.

Starting October 1, 2010, all practitioners will be required to use prescription pads which comply with guidelines by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This deadline is approaching rapidly and prescribers need to stock up on the new tamper-resistant prescription pads. This law will not affect practitioners who are enrolled in the Medicaid program since they are already subject to these requirements. For more information on the new requirement you can visit the State of Delaware Web site at http://www.dpr.delaware.gov/

Medial Arts Press can provide you with these tamper-resistant prescription pads. Please visit our Web site at: http://www.medicalartspress.com/alter-proof-rx-blanks-rx-blanks/cbl/7560.html

There are approximately 129 new valid diagnosis codes that will become effective on October 1, 2010. Many of these new additions are found in Chapter 14 among the codes for congenital anomalies of female genital organs, in Chapter 16 under symptoms involving the respiratory and digestive systems, and in Chapter 17 for injuries and poisoning. Significant changes were made to the supplementary classification chapter. Fifty-five of the new diagnosis codes effective on October 1st are new V codes.

Expanded Avian and H1N1 Codes

Both avian and H1N1 influenza have been expanded into three codes each. They now include codes with pneumonia, with other respiratory manifestations, and with other manifestations.

New Congenital Anomaly Codes

The new codes for congenital anomalies of female genital organs center on unique codes for Müllerian anomalies, which encompass all congenital anomalies of the uterus, cervix, and vagina since they stem from the same embryonic origin. The American Society of Reproductive Medicine recognizes seven types of uterine anomalies. Only two of the seven recognized types currently have specified codes in ICD-9-CM, but it is important to be able to differentiate between the anomalies because of the different gynecologic and obstetric implications they cause. The creation of new codes for these anomalies is meant to enhance communication about these conditions, and thereby improve patient care and management for conception and pregnancy issues.

New Signs and Symptoms Codes

New subcategory additions for symptoms involving the respiratory system expand hemoptysis, which has previously been used to code both an unspecified pulmonary hemorrhage and coughing up blood or bloody sputum. The new codes will now supply separate codes for unspecified hemoptysis (pulmonary hemorrhage NOS) and other hemoptysis (coughing up blood) as well as identify the rare case of acute idiopathic pulmonary hemorrhage in an infant over 28 days old.

Codes for symptoms of the digestive system expand fecal incontinence to distinguish between its different presenting symptoms, particularly incomplete defecation. A new code for fecal impaction was also created in the digestive system chapter, and tabular instructions distinguish between different presenting symptoms of incontinence and the other codes for impaction and constipation, which are not the same.

Also within Chapter 16, a new subcategory was created for signs and symptoms involving cognition that would allow the coding of cognitive symptoms related to other neurologic conditions or traumatic brain injury as supplementary codes that can present a clinical picture when there is no other more specific diagnosis available. These codes include cognitive symptoms such as attention or concentration deficit, visuospatial or psychomotor deficit, and frontal lobe and executive function deficit.

New Injury and Poisoning Codes

Very important changes within the injuries and poisoning chapter include the addition of a code specifically for poisoning by cocaine, or crack, 970.81, since this is a major central nervous system drug responsible for drug abuse and overdose that has not been specifically referenced in ICD-9-CM.

Category 999 Complications of medical care, not elsewhere classified has significant new diagnosis codes added for several conditions specifically related to the transfusion of blood or blood components, such as hemolytic transfusion reaction or HTR, for which no code currently exists in the classification system. Many of these transfusion disorders or reactions are currently under-recognized and under-reported, even though some can become debilitating or cause transfusion-related deaths. It is critical that these conditions are reported when they occur.

HTR is a blood transfusion reaction that causes an increased destruction of red blood cells due to some kind of incompatibility between the donor blood and the recipient. There is currently no provision in the classification system for distinguishing blood group ABO from non-ABO type hemolytic transfusion reactions, nor acute from delayed reactions, so unique codes have been created to help raise increased awareness of the prevalence of these conditions among recipients of blood transfusions and allow tracking for effectiveness of treatment.

New V Codes

V codes were created to report many new personal history conditions, such as a personal history of vaginal and vulvar dysplasia, personal history of combat and operational stress reaction, and personal history of corrected congenital malformations. The codes for insertion, routine checking, removal, and subsequent
reinsertion of IUDs have been modified into more specific codes in order to report these encounters more accurately, specifically, the ability to code removal with immediate reinsertion of IUD.

Body mass index (BMI) codes have also been expanded for reporting adult BMI measurements over 40 to distinguish specific ranges of BMI between 40 and 69.9, and 70 and over. This was necessary to track the population of morbid obesity as Americans are becoming more and more obese.

Two entirely new sections of V codes have been created—V90 Retained Foreign Body and V91 Multiple Gestation Placenta Status. The new category for retained foreign bodies reports cases of fragments or splinters embedded in an injured person that cannot be removed. Because of the potential health risks and hazards of embedded foreign bodies, the Department of Defense requested new codes to report an embedded fragment status that would identify the type of material, such as different types of metal, plastic, or organic matter. Although these codes are useful mainly for military purposes in cases of injuries from explosive devices, they are also applicable to any injury resulting in embedded fragments. The codes for multiple gestation placenta status were instituted to distinguish the number of placentae and amniotic sacs in cases of twin, triplet, quadruplet or other specified multiple gestation pregnancies.