Health Information Management

Q: We file copies of patients' signed acknowledgments for the notice of privacy practices (NPP) in their medical records. If our facility readmits patients at a later time, is it necessary for them to sign the acknowledgment again?

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, November 12, 2007

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A: Direct treatment providers are required to give a patient a NPP and to obtain acknowledgment the first time they see the patient. It is unnecessary to reissue the notice and obtain acknowledgment on subsequent occasions unless providers make material changes to their NPP.

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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