Articles Tagged With: HIPAA
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Accidental phone call creates HIPAA quandary for employees
The typical requests for patient information are easy to understand for compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, but staff members will face unusual situations that test their confidence and prompt them to play it safe by not disclosing.
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Denying Release of PHI can be a HIPAA Violation
For 20 years now, risk managers have drilled into their staffs the importance of HIPAA compliance. But has that message been oversold?
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Create ‘culture of privacy’ in patient access areas
To prevent potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, “we need to, first, cultivate a culture of privacy within the patient access staff,” says Julie Johnson, CHAM, FHAM, director of patient access and Health Information Management and HIPAA privacy officer at Mount Graham Regional Medical Center in Safford, AZ.
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Common registration practices cause big problems with HIPAA
“Mr. Bob Jones? Your colonoscopy will take place in 15 minutes.”
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HHS offers guidance to patients on accessing their protected health information
Responding to complaints that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act sometimes makes it difficult for patients to obtain their own medical records, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights recently issued guidance to help people better exercise their existing rights for accessing that information.
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Data analysis reveals most common HIPAA violators
Several large pharmacy chains and health systems are among the most frequent violators of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, according to a recent report from ProPublica.
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Careful: HIPAA mental health change is limited, and not a free-for-all
President Obama’s recent announcement that he is changing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to allow reporting of patients with mental health issues drew acclaim from gun control advocates, but the effect on healthcare providers was not clear. -
No date yet for OCR’s HIPAA audits
The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) still has not set a date for when the next round of HIPAA audits, originally planned for fall 2014, will take place.
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Blue Cross Blue Shield employees charged with taking and sharing data screen shots
Eleven people have been charged after a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) employee allegedly printed and shared screen shots of more than 5,000 subscriber profiles. The 11 people are charged with identity theft and credit card fraud, in what some observers are calling an example of how criminals can get past even the best HIPAA security measures.
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No date yet for OCR’s HIPAA audits
The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) still has not set a date for when the next round of HIPAA audits, originally planned for fall 2014, will take place.