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Briefings on HIPAA

Issue 36, September 12, 2002

• Selecting an IT security audit approach

  Selecting an IT security audit approach

Issue 12, December 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Q&A: Who needs privacy training? How do we identify business associates?

  Q&A: Who needs privacy training? How do we identify business associates?

• Q: Who should receive privacy training and what information should be covered in

  Q: Who should receive privacy training and what information should be covered in the training...

• Consider the pros and cons of OHCAs

  By Edward F. ShayMany hospitals and their medical staff are considering forming an organized...

• Consider these solutions when cleaning up MPI data

  Reducing duplicates promotes patient privacyEditor’s note: This is part two of a...

• Consider using the Web to assist with compliance efforts and improve patient c

  Allowing patients to view their medical records and communicate with physicians online will not...

• Privacy Primer: Train staff on how to use PHI to protect individuals’ hea

  By William H. Roach, Jr., MS, JD, of Gardner Carton & DouglasFrom time to time, health care...

• Q&A with Kate Borten:

  What’s the difference between the business associate agreement and the chain of trust...

Issue 11, November 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Establish marketing policies and procedures now

  Final changes exclude some communications from definition If your facility hasn’t developed...

• Find creative ways to educate staff

  Alabama’s Children’s Health System makes HIPAA training funPicture this: You’re...

• Improve MPI data integrity to prepare for unique identifier rules

  Analyzing your master patient index (MPI) data now will help you improve the accuracy and...

• Privacy Primer: Train your staff on how to use health

  information for marketing By William H. Roach Jr., MS, JD, of Gardner Carton & DouglasThe...

• Take a look at how your HIPAA compliance plan affects your insurance

  By Edward F. ShayBy now, most covered entities are moving full tilt toward compliance with...

Issue 10, October 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Determine whether your facility is a hybrid entity to avoid unnecessary complian

  Designating your facility as a hybrid entity could save you money and time on unnecessary...

• Don't rely on the privacy rule's sample language for an effective business assoc

• Follow these tips for training volunteers and temporary employees

• By William H. Roach Jr., MS, JD, of Gardner, Carton & Douglas

• Q&A with Kate Borten: Can we use sign-in sheets and call waiting patients by nam

• Start thinking about enforcement for transactions and code sets now

Issue 9, September 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Avoid these pitfalls and use common sense when handling business associate agr

  By Edward F. ShayMost covered entities are coming to terms with their obligation to modify...

• Final privacy changes easier on researchers, make consent optional

  Facilities can now disclose patients’ dates of admission, discharge, birth, and death...

• Final privacy changes easier on researchers, make consent optional

  Facilities can now disclose patients’ dates of admission, discharge, birth, and death...

• Privacy Primer: Train personnel to respond appropriately to law enforcement req

  By William H. Roach, Jr., MS, JD Gardner, Carton, & DouglasHealth care providers routinely...

• Providence Health Plan includes HIPAA security in its general compliance effor

  HIPAA’s proposed security rule is not the driving force behind Providence Health...

• Use a committee to determine whether to accept patients’ amendment reques

  Accepting patients’ requests for record amendments, determining whether to make...

• Work together with vendors to ensure HIPAA compliance

  Your vendors are not the enemy. “It’s very easy to get lost in the HIPAA...

Issue 8, August 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Avoid scrutiny from HHS with appropriate policies and procedures for patient co

  By Edward F. ShayThe privacy rule says an individual may file a complaint with a covered entity...

• Consider using exams, posters to reinforce privacy training

  Facilities must complete all privacy training by April 14, 2003. But making sure employees...

• Don’t forget to protect PHI on biomedical devices

  Biomedical devices, such as anesthesia units and medical imaging systems are covered by HIPAA when...

• Establish procedures, policies for disposal of patient records

  Facilities often pay a lot of money to store patient records. To save yourself some money and...

• Keep chain of trust agreements in mind when developing business associate contr

  Now is not the time to ask business associates to sign chain of trust agreements. The security...

• Privacy Primer: A privacy essential: Train for response to court orders and su

  By William H. Roach, Jr., MS, JD, of Gardner, Carton & DouglasThe HIPAA privacy regulations...

• Q&A with Kate Borten: Are our standards for choosing strong passwords enou

  Editor’s note: Since managing the first comprehensive information security programs at...

Issue 7, July 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Ask these questions when conducting departmental privacy self-assessments

  A privacy gap analysis should be one of the first steps every privacy officer takes on the road to...

• Consider a clearinghouse for transactions and code sets

  Unlike health plans, providers have options for complying with HIPAA’s transactions...

• Develop employee sanctions for privacy violations

  Facilities must establish disciplinary sanctions for employees who wrongfully use or...

• Marketing and privacy: Take aim at a moving target

  By Edward F. ShayMarketing first surfaced as a point of contention in the proposed privacy rule...

• Privacy Primer: Include reports to public health agencies in your HIPAA trainin

  By William H. Roach Jr., MS, JD, of Gardner, Carton & DouglasMost entities subject to HIPAA...

• Protect employees’ privacy when they become patients

  If your privacy procedures are robust, your employees are properly trained, and there is a high...

Issue 6, June 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Don’t wait until October 15 to file your facility’s ASCA compliance

  Even if your facility is prepared to comply with HIPAA’s transactions and code sets...

• Educate staff members on how and when to redisclose patient information

  Every facility has patient records that originated from another facility. General practitioners...

• Pay close attention to these important business associate agreement provisions

  By Edward F. ShayIn its March 2002 proposal to modify the privacy rule, the Department of Health...

• Privacy Primer: HIPAA training programs must cover disclosure rules for special

  By William H. Roach, Jr., MS, JD, of Gardner, Carton & DouglasThe HIPAA privacy regulations...

• Protect your facility by going beyond HIPAA’s business associate require

  Facilities need to include more in their business associate agreements than just what the privacy...

• Work with department managers to provide job-specific privacy training

  A lot of facilities are conducting general privacy training, but that’s only half the...

Issue 5, May 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Include your notice of privacy practices with general admission forms

  Proposed changes would eliminate consent and place new emphasis on noticeWhen patients are first...

• Privacy officers’ salaries vary widely; responsibilities still unclear

  Privacy officials’ salaries range from as low as $30,000 to as high as $124,500, and most...

• Privacy Primer: Train staff on the rules for permitting disclosures without aut

  By William H. Roach, Jr., MS, JD, of Gardner, Carton & DouglasThe HIPAA privacy regulations...

• Raise awareness now and focus on efficient project management

  Less than a year left to comply with the privacy rule“I didn’t know we appointed a...

• With or without the elimination of consent, sharing PHI is easier under the pro

  By Edward F. Shay, Esq.Since the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a notice...

Issue 4, April 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Compare HIPAA with state privacy laws before conducting a gap analysis

  If you conduct a gap analysis by comparing your practices with HIPAA’s regulations, and...

• Prioritize your facility’s compliance efforts by assessing risk

  Many facilities are discovering through gap analysis that there are hundreds of things they need...

• Privacy Primer: Follow these special rules for consents and Authorizations

  By William H. Roach, Jr., MS, JD, of Gardner, Carton & Douglas in ChicagoEditor’s note...

• Proposed privacy changes affect consent and marketing

  April 2003 deadline remains intactThe proposed changes to the HIPAA privacy rule announced March...

• Q&A with Kate Borten: Will our existing process meet HIPAA’s ‘i

  Editor’s note: Kate Borten, CISSP, addresses readers’ questions in this Q&A...

• Tip of the month: Train your office managers to keep physicians HIPAA-compliant

  Training physicians with the rest of your staff won’t work. But they’re the ones who...

• You cannot have privacy without security

  By Edward F. Shay, Esq.Many HIPAA watchers believe the final security regulations will be...

Issue 3, March 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• 2002 brings new rules and changes, but don’t expect delays

  Until the delay of the transactions and code set regulations in late December 2001, we...

• Health care group urges Thompson to change consent and research requirements

  The privacy rule’s requirement that providers get consent before giving care should...

• Protect patient information with an effective data recovery plan

  A contingency plan and strategy for recovering data after a disaster isn’t just part of a...

• Q&A: Who needs privacy training? How do we identify business associates?

  Answered by Rebecca Jones, consultant for Gates, Moore, & Company in Atlanta. If you have a...

• The more the merrier

  Privacy officer shares HIPAA-compliance responsibility with committees and workgroupsBeth Israel...

• Use due diligence when selecting business associates

  By Edward F. Shay, Esq.A typical provider has an array of contractual relationships that fall...

Issue 2, February 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Are your vendors ready to comply with transactions and code sets?

  Prepared facilities may still need to apply for the extensionEven if your facility is ready to...

• HIPAA’s rules on marketing have changed since the proposed privacy rule

  By Edward F. Shay, Esq.Most students of the privacy rule expected the government to regulate the...

• Know how HIPAA affects members of clergy

  The privacy rule provides some exceptions for religious leadersMost facilities would not...

• Take the team approach: Combine consultant experience with in-house expertise

  Consultants can provide valuable support to organizations using experience they have gained...

• Thorough documentation is the key to lawsuit preparation

  Patient charts aren’t the only records you must protect under HIPAA. If your facility faces...

Issue 1, January 21, 2002 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Briefings on HIPAA 2001 index

  Briefings on HIPAA 2001 index

• Follow these steps for conducting a privacy gap analysis

  Follow these steps for conducting a privacy gap analysis

• Operating in limbo: Pay close attention to the privacy rule's transition provis

  Operating in limbo: Pay close attention to the privacy rule's transition provisions

• Protect patients and employees when handling medical record leaks

  Protect patients and employees when handling medical record leaks

• Q&A with Jon Bogen

  Q&A with Jon Bogen