When calling patients regarding appointment times, how much information can we leave on an answering machine?
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, December 4, 2006
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To comply with the privacy rule's "minimum necessary" standard, you should leave the least amount of information necessary to achieve your purpose. For general medical appointments, it is acceptable to leave a message similar to the following:
"This is Dr. Smith's office calling for John Jones. We wanted to remind you of your appointment at 10 am on Tuesday, November 28. Please call us at (telephone number) to confirm. Thank you."
The message should not include any information about the patient's health status or the reason for the appointment.
Editor's note: Mary Brandt, president of Bellaire, TX-based Brandt & Associates, LLC, answered this question. This is not legal advice. Consult your attorney for legal matters.
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