HIPAA Q&A: You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers!
HIM-HIPAA Insider, September 15, 2014
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!
Submit your HIPAA questions to Editor Jaclyn Fitzgerald at jfitzgerald@hcpro.com and we will work with our experts to provide you with the information you need.
Q: I understand that a patient's insurance identification number (ID) is considered individually identifiable health information. Is disclosure of a patient's name and his or her ID without any reference to provision of healthcare a breach of PHI, or is it simply an incident that could lead to identity theft?
A: If the patients' names and IDs were not secure and the information was breached, this constitutes a breach of unsecure PHI. Covered entities are required to assume notification is required and conduct a four-factor risk assessment to determine the risk to the patients. After you conduct the risk assessment, if you determine the risk to the patients is low, you do not need to notify patients. Click here for more information about breach notification requirements.
A breach of patient names and health plan IDs could lead to medical identity theft Black market criminals who collect information about individuals over time may pick up this breached electronic information. They may be able to collect enough information to commit medical identity theft (e.g., filing false Medicare and Medicaid claims).
Editor’s note: Chris Apgar, CISSP, president of Apgar & Associates, LLC, in Portland, Oregon, answered this question for HCPro’s Briefings on HIPAA newsletter.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!
Related Products
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- Don't forget the three checks in medication administration
- CDC alert: Screen for international travel as Ebola cases increase
- Nursing responsibilities for managing pain
- Complications from immobility by body system
- Note similarities and differences between HCPCS, CPT® codes
- Q&A: Primary, principal, and secondary diagnoses
- The consequences of an incomplete medical record
- Practice the six rights of medication administration
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- Neurological checks for head injuries
- E-mailed
-
- CDC alert: Screen for international travel as Ebola cases increase
- Capturing start and stop times for infusions
- Differentiate between types of wound debridement
- Q&A: Utilization Review Committee Membership
- Life Safety Code Q&A: Ambulatory care soiled utility room
- Leadership training for charge nurses
- Helping Charge Nurses understand their leadership role (Part 2 of 3)
- Five ways to safeguard your patients' valuables
- Developing a Fall-Prevention Program
- Searched