Complying with HIPAA
Compliance Monitor, December 8, 2006
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Compliance Monitor!
Q: When calling patients regarding appointment times, how much information can we leave on an answering machine?
A: To comply with the privacy rule's "minimum necessary" standard, you should leave the least amount of information necessary to achieve your purpose. For general medical appointments, it is acceptable to leave a message similar to the following: <p>
"This is Dr. Smith's office calling for John Jones. We wanted to remind you of your appointment at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 28. Please call us at (telephone number) to confirm. Thank you." <p>
The message should not include any information about the patient's health status or the reason for the appointment.
Editor's note: Mary Brandt, president of Bellaire, TX-based Brandt & Associates, LLC, answered this question. This is not legal advice. Consult your attorney for legal matters.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Compliance Monitor!
Related Products
-
Strategies for Health Care Compliance
News and real-life examples to increase the effectiveness of your compliance program. Strategies for Health Care Compliance...
-
Compliance Monitor
This HTML e-mail newsletter delivers news on Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse, as well as recent documents and targets...
-
Medicare Weekly Update
Each issue of Medicare Weekly Update includes the latest CMS proposed and final rules, CMS manual revisions, and...
-
Medicare Update for Physician Services
Medicare Update for Physician Services is a free, monthly e-zine that delivers news and information to help physician...
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- HIPAA Q&A: Flu shot requirement for hospital employees
- HealthDataInsights posts new issues for medical necessity claims
- Running an effective peer review committee meeting
- Sneak Peek: Effort underway to establish caseload benchmarks
- Q&A: Incidental disclosures and patient privacy
- New FAQ posted on storing laryngoscope blades
- Tip: Perform your own internal investigation prior to government audit
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- HIPAA 5010 deadline extended, but threat remains, says AMA
- HHS task force: Consider privacy, security with text messages
- E-mailed
-
- Running an effective peer review committee meeting
- HIPAA Q&A: Flu shot requirement for hospital employees
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- HHS task force: Consider privacy, security with text messages
- Featured blog post: Nurses face felony charges after reporting physician to the Texas Medical Board
- Tip: Correctly code bilateral pain management procedures
- 2012 CPT code changes for ASCs: Shoulder and knee scopes and pain management
- COT basics to best
- Documentation and coding for toxic metabolic encephalopathy
- Guidance and tact key to compliant, effective physician queries
- Searched