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HIPAA Revisited for Medical Staffs

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, August 12, 2010

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Anne R. Buss, CPMSM, CPCS, is a medical staff consultant based in Fayetteville, AR. 

Dear readers, 

A headline in one of the healthcare newsletters I received this week caught my eye: “HITRUST: HIPAA Breaches Near $1 Billion.” This article from HealthLeaders Media is similar to others that place a high price tag on HIPAA violations.  So this weekend, I researched HIPPA violations and spent a few minutes reading the numerous violations that are being prosecuted these days.  Although you’d think it isn’t happening after all we have done to safeguard patient health information in hospitals and patient charts in clinics, you would be amazed at some of the information I uncovered. 

Articles like the ones I’ve been reading clarify the importance of providing HIPAA training to medical staff services professionals and medical staff members. Whether this is done at initial orientation or on an ongoing basis, people who work in the healthcare industry should know about HIPAA.

While I often mention safeguarding the health information crossing the information highway in the medical staff services department, I don’t know that it is being done seriously enough in other hospital departments.  As a manager or director, it is important that we don’t wait for an incident to occur.  Hospitals need to tell the employees about HIPAA violations that make the news. To the people they affect negatively, they may be horror stories, but to others they are valuable learning lessons. Managers should explain their organization’s HIPAA policy and the consequences of violating the policy because it helps bring clarity to a situation that often seem vague and unclear, or even well intended.  When HIPAA violations are uncovered, punishment follows. Ensure your medical staff steers clear of both through HIPAA training. 

Remember, those who are afraid to ask are afraid to learn.

All the best,
Anne R. Buss, CPMSM, CPCS

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