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Protecting privacy at home: Follow these rules for telecommuters

HIM Connection, June 2, 2003

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When HIM staff work outside the facility, many of the built-in privacy and security protections at the facility are lost. Every member of the organization's work force received training on HIPAA rules and the importance of protecting patient privacy by April 2003. The same cannot be said for every person who comes into an employee's home.

Hospital employees who telecommute such as coders and transcriptionists should follow these rules when working from home:

--Do not leave patient information--including any piece of paper, computer or handheld device containing protected health information (PHI)--where others can gain access to them.

--Do not permit anyone else to use the computer you use for work, including your spouse and children.

--Make sure family members or roommates who are home during working hours stay out of the room where you're working.

--Do not leave your computer logged into the hospital's systems while you're away from your work.

--Make sure you have permission from your facility before using a laptop or handheld device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), to gain access to any PHI. HIPAA requires certain security safeguards on these items.

--If your facility has established these safeguards and permits you to view patient information on a laptop or handheld device, be careful about where you use it. It's not appropriate to look up a patient's prescription information on a PDA when you're on a crowded train. If another person could look over your shoulder and see what's on the screen, do not use it.

--Do not use the same device for personal and professional information. It increases the chance of patient information getting into the wrong hands.

Use case studies such as the following to reinforce these rules:

Q: Your daughter needs to use the Internet to do some research for a history project, but your family computer is broken and you don't have time to take her to the library. All of your work-related files are password-protected. Should you let your daughter use your work computer?

A: No. If you gain access to confidential patient information on your computer, you cannot let others use it. The only way to be absolutely certain that others won't come across the confidential information on your computer is to prevent them from using it altogether.

This week's HIM Connection was excerpted from the HIPAA Training Handbook for HIM Staff: Privacy, Security and Patients' Rights.

Sincerely,

Laura Motta
Editorial Assistant

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