Can we use sign-in sheets and call waiting patients by name?
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, September 20, 2002
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Q: Can we use sign-in sheets and call waiting patients by name?
A: HIPAA does not forbid these practices. However, creative organizations are finding ways to sign in patients and call them while respecting their privacy. For example, if you can't accommodate face-to-face sign in, consider having patients sign in on a page with peel-off stickers; then peel the stickers off and place the names on a list behind the desk or on a folder.
Instead of calling out last names, try first names or first name and last initial only. It may be important to explain to patients that you are not being disrespectful; on the contrary, you are protecting their privacy. You can also try using deli-counter-style number systems if you call patients on a first-come, first-served basis.
You may also consider using anonymous pagers or flashers, as some restaurants do to signal that tables are ready.
Answered by Kate Borten, CISSP, president of The Marblehead Group, Inc., in Marblehead, MA, and excerpted from the upcoming October 2002 issue of Briefings on HIPAA.
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