How can switchboard operators support HIPAA compliance?
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, September 19, 2003
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Q:What should facility switchboard operators do when they receive calls asking for a patient's room number? What does HIPAA say about a parent signing the acknowledgement of receipt of privacy notice for a minor?
A: The privacy rule talks about how to release patient information, even a patient's room number. Patients must be given an opportunity to opt out of being listed in a facility directory containing name, location, and general condition. Patients must have an opportunity to restrict some of that information-for example, to omit general condition. The directory listing for these patients must be blocked or otherwise labeled so that the switchboard operator does not give out the information. Otherwise, if patients agree to the listing, the operator may give out their room numbers when visitors ask for patients by name.
Note that HIPAA does not require the use of a consent form for any purpose. In the case of directory opt-out, HIPAA does not specify the form this takes. But organizations should take care to formally document the patient's wishes. While many hospitals have long permitted directory opt-out for VIPs, under HIPAA they must make sure that all patients understand they have this right.
Q: What does HIPAA say about a parent signing the acknowledgement of receipt of privacy notice for a minor?
A: This is a point of common confusion. HIPAA does not require that the parent or guardian of a minor must sign. Reason should rule. Acknowledging receipt of the privacy notice is not comparable to signing an authorization to disclose PHI to third parties, for example. If a child is accompanied by a parent or guardian who is completing other paperwork on behalf of the minor, then it is reasonable to ask that adult to sign the acknowledgement of receipt. On the other hand, if the child or teen is unaccompanied, it is equally reasonable to ask the minor patient to sign.
Editor's note: Answered by Kate Borten, CISSP, president of The Marblehead Group, in Marblehead, MA, and excerpted from the upcoming October 2003 issue of Briefings on HIPAA. This is not legal advice. Be sure to consult with your facility's legal counsel for legal matters.
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