HCPro.com: HIPAA Weekly Advisor

This e-mail newsletter delivers how-to advice and breaking news on HIPAA regulations each week. Stay informed on timely topics, security news and regulations, and analysis of proposed and final HIPAA rules that will ensure patient information security.

December 1, 2008 (Volume 9, Issue 48)

Q. A member of the media contacts a hospital to inquire about a particular patient and identifies that patient by name. May the hospital respond to this request for information without obtaining patient authorization?
Q. A member of the media contacts a hospital to inquire about a particular patient and identifies that patient by name. May the hospital respond to this request for information without obtaining patient authorization? A. Yes. When patients have not opted out of the patient directory, you may provide a brief description of their condition, including whether they have been discharged. Editor’s note: Mary Brandt, president of Bellaire, TX-based Brandt & Associates, LLC, answered this question. This is not legal advice. Consult your attorney regarding legal matters.

Healthcare employee fired after leaving laptop unattended
Vandals stole an unattended laptop that included health information of 100,000 patients from the car of a healthcare employee, leading to the employee’s dismissal. The Baylor Health Care System of Dallas employee was fired for breaking company protocol, the Dallas Morning News reported. Read the full story in the Dallas Morning News.

Cover your ground on remote access employees
Your remote access employees must follow company protocol for HIPAA compliance. In fact, you should pay very close attention to them, experts say. Here are some tips on ensuring compliance with your remote access employees: Have strong policies and procedures, clear guidelines for those who work remotely, and a strict auditing process in place. Determine who is currently working remotely, and who has a legitimate need to do so. Are the benefits to the employee and organization worth the risks? What risks does your organization incur when employees leave the hospital with equipment that contains patient records? CMS makes it very clear that covered entities must consider who has a legitimate need to work remotely. Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from the HCPro, Inc. newsletter, Briefings on HIPAA. To learn more about the newsletter, please visit our marketplace.

Educators call for Electronic Health Records protection
Two professors at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland have called for increasing oversight regarding EHRs, ScienceDaily reports. "Electronic information can be illicitly accessed from anywhere and transmitted across the globe quickly, cheaply, and with little risk of detection," Sharona Hoffman, professor of law and bioethics at the School of Law, told ScienceDaily. "EHR systems could transform healthcare in the U.S., but their potential will be realized only with careful oversight." Read the full story in ScienceDaily.

Other recently-published articles from HIPAA Weekly Advisor:

Data privacy in 2009: Expect stepped up red-flag enforcement

Officials to launch PHR Choice program this week

Privacy/security job titles

TIP: Keep an eye on legislation in new Congress

News station discovers un-shredded documents

NH hospital package missing, contains patient information

TIP: Tighten your HIPAA security policies and procedures

Status of deceased patient

Former Cedars-Sinai employee held for identity theft, fraud

West Virginia officials may have violated HIPAA privacy

Children in the office

Tip: Tighten your HIPAA security policies and procedures

Tip: Mitigate the risk of identity theft

Big computer screens

OCR releases new HIPAA privacy guidance

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