HIPAA Q&A: You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers!
HIM-HIPAA Insider, January 18, 2016
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!
Submit your HIPAA questions to Associate Editor Nicole Votta at nvotta@hcpro.com and we will work with our experts to provide you with the information you need.
Q: My office manager at an outpatient practice revealed to two employees that I'm a recovering alcoholic. I'm a midlevel practitioner and a patient of one of the physicians in the practice. Is this a HIPAA violation?
A: It may be a HIPAA violation because you are a patient of the practice. If the office manager accessed your medical record or learned of your condition during a conversation with your physician, it would be a violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. On the other hand, if the office manager disclosed information about your medical condition and it did not relate to treatment at the clinic (say, the information came from a job interview with you or was documented in your personnel file), it would not be a HIPAA violation because the information was available to your office manager acting as the employer. It may still be a violation of state law or other federal law, but it would not be a HIPAA violation.
Editor’s note: Chris Apgar, CISSP, president of Apgar and Associates in Portland, Oregon, answered this question for HCPro’s Briefings on HIPAA newsletter. This information does not constitute legal advice. Consult legal counsel for answers to specific privacy and security questions.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to HIM-HIPAA Insider!
Related Products
-
Briefings on APCs
Worried about the complexities of the new rules under OPPS and APCs? Briefings on APCs helps you understand the new rules...
-
HIM Briefings
Guiding Health Information Management professionals through the continuously changing field of medical records and toward a...
-
Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies
Submitting improper Medicare documentation can lead to denial of fees, payback, fines, and increased diligence from payers...
-
Briefings on HIPAA
How can you minimize the impact of HIPAA? Subscribe to Briefings on HIPAA, your health information management resource for...
-
APCs Insider
This HTML-based e-mail newsletter provides weekly tips and advice on the new ambulatory payment classifications regulations...
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- Don't forget the three checks in medication administration
- Note similarities and differences between HCPCS, CPT® codes
- Q&A: Primary, principal, and secondary diagnoses
- Practice the six rights of medication administration
- What does case-mix index mean to you?
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- Complications from immobility by body system
- Coding Clinic reiterates guidelines for provider documentation
- Prevent dehydration with nursing interventions
- Nursing responsibilities for managing pain
- E-mailed
-
- Capturing start and stop times for infusions
- Q&A: Sepsis as a primary diagnosis
- Note from the instructor: Billing Outpatient Laboratory Services - TOB 131 vs. TOB 141
- Learn how to read an OP report
- Inpatient-only procedures: Accuracy helps avoid denials, ensure compliance
- Don't forget the three checks in medication administration
- Coding, billing, and documentation tips for teaching physicians, interns, residents, and students
- Coding Clinic reiterates guidelines for provider documentation
- Clinical Corner: Revisiting respiratory failure
- Clear up confusion surrounding observation services
- Searched
