How to conduct HIPAA-compliant fund raising
Healthcare Auditing Weekly, February 17, 2004
Fund raising and HIPAA compliance
Auditors looking into fundraisers: Make sure all mailings include information on how the recipient can "opt out" of future mailings or phone drives. This is required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Then, once you receive "opt out" requests, log them somewhere, and remove the people from address and phone databases.
To test whether your facility is illegally sending unwanted solicitations, take a sample from your opt out list and compare it to a recent letter campaign. If you find even one mistake, urge the hospital to set a new procedure to require the fundraising staff to check addresses against the opt out list.
Editor's note: This is an excerpt from the book "Guide to HIPAA Auditing: Practical Tools and Tips to Ensure Compliance," by Margret Amatayakul, published by HCPro Inc. This book and CD-ROM is a step by step resource for auditing and monitoring your HIPAA compliance program. Designed to work in a variety of health care settings, it is a tool that quickly and accurately helps you audit specific practices. Click here for more information or to order.
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