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Private eyes: Three ways to keep patient information protected

Pharmacy Regulation Resource, May 6, 2004

Picture yourself as the patient when dealing with HIPAA compliance. What would you want to keep private?

While the pharmacy is usually in a separate area of the hospital away from the public, protecting patient information is still important. From medication labels to patient records to computers screens, the pharmacy must safeguard protected health information (PHI).

Check out these three simple solutions to protect patient information:

1. Look for the minimum necessary. Do not access more information than you need. For example, if you only need information from the patient's history and physical, do not look at the nursing notes in the medical record.

2. Be aware of your surroundings. For example, a pharmacist may go from room to room to educate patients about their medications, how to use them, and any possible side effects. If the patient shares a room, the pharmacist may want to consider how he or she consults with the patient.

Tip: Take the patient into a private room or find a quiet setting to discuss medications or treatments.

3. Watch your carts. Pharmacy technicians may sometimes leave a cart in a hallway if they need to deliver medications to more than one unit on a floor instead of pushing the cart back and forth. People walking past the unattended cart would be able to see medication labels and other patient information.

Tip: Teach pharmacy technicians to never leave carts unattended in the hallway.

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