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When you're registering patients, do they need to be in a spot by themselves?

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, August 20, 2001

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Q: When you're registering patients, do they need to be in a spot by themselves? Can they be in an area where there are other people who could possibly hear information?

A: That's a great question. I've heard rumors. I've heard people say, for example, that hospitals are now going to have to get rid of their semi-private rooms and make all the rooms private. That's not what HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] intended, and that's why they clarified this issue in the new guidance.

This is where it's subjective. The expectation is you're going to consider the environment and take reasonable steps, reasonable precautions, to protect the individual's privacy.

Clearly, this isn't new, and many of our organizations already moved to cubicles or interview areas that are somewhat screened off. We can't necessarily soundproof the booths entirely, nor can we put semi-private rooms out of business and move to private rooms.

Document the fact that you understand there's a risk here, and you've reviewed the situation and taken all the steps you can to reduce the risk to a reasonable, acceptable level.

Editor's note: Answered by Kate Borten, CISSP, president of the Marblehead Group in Marblehead, MA. At a recent audioconference sponsored by The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro, in Marblehead, MA, Kate Borten, CISSP, and William Miaoulis, CISA, answered participants' questions about the HIPAA privacy and security rules. The above is an excerpt from the Q&A session.

To order a casette of this audioconference, go to http://www.hcmarketplace.com/prod/showdetl.cfm?did=6&product_id=10613

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