Aug

18

Public disclosure of autopsy findings

Posted by: Dom Nicastro | Comments (1)

Lately there have been disclosure announcements as to the results of celebrity autopsy reports. At what point does this become a HIPAA violation if it is not a criminal investigation?

For example, the Billy Mays press release. The family indicated that they were not in agreement with the release of information. What is the medical examiner’s liability in the disclosure of a patient’s autopsy records?

Deborah DeLeo, CHC, CPC
Executive Director of Operations
TreeFrog Data Solutions

Aug

17

Workforce-as-patients access to EHR

Posted by: crichardson | Comments (1)

Does any CE have a policy permitting workforce-as-patients – medical staff and employees – to circumvent the existing policy and HIM process for patients to obtain their PHI, and directly access their personal PHI in the EHR?

If so, do you have the same or separate policy/process for medical staff-as-patients and employees-as patients? If so, how do you provide access for employee-patients who do not already have role-based access to the EHR in general? If so, does this policy and process require additional FTE support, and where?

Does the policy require expanded auditing of EHR access? If you have a policy and process, would you share? Have you noted any increased facility-wide risk for breach in general as a result of this policy?

Thanks!

Carol Richardson, MA, RHIA

Aug

12

Chart access by nurse advocate

Posted by: rsteimel | Comments (4)

Do you allow nurses to access their families’ EMR if they are not the caregiver, but the family wants them to advocate for them? Of do you require an ROI and send them to Medical Records?

Rochelle Steimel, OTR, MPH
Rights Advisor/Privacy Officer
Munson Healthcare (Traverse City, MI)

Aug

10

Will you change your notice of privacy practices?

Posted by: mgomez | Comments (5)

Have any covered entities considered changing their current notice of privacy practices to cover the new rights patients will have under HITECH?

Melanie A. Gomez, HRM, CHC
Director of Corporate Compliance and Risk Management-HIPAA Privacy Officer
CareMore Medical Enterprises

Aug

10

Paper versus computer records

Posted by: bvenesy | Comments (2)

I have been told that there is heightened security for computer medical records versus paper medical records. I do an annual random sample of medical record reviews in physician offices and believed that medical records were medical records and were to be treated with identical protection.

Please help!

Barbara Venesy
QI Coordinator in Credentialing for a community physician group