Private Practice Revises Process to Provide Access to Records Regardless of Payment Source
Private Practice Revises Process to Provide Access to Records Regardless of Payment Source
Covered Entity: Private Practices
Issue: Access
At the direction of an insurance company that had requested an
independent medical exam of an individual, a private medical practice
denied the individual a copy of the medical records. OCR determined that
the private practice denied the individual access to records to which
she was entitled by the Privacy Rule. Among other corrective actions to
resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required that the private
practice revise its policies and procedures regarding access requests to
reflect the individual's right of access regardless of payment source
| Large Provider Revises Patient Contact Process to Reflect Requests for Confidential Communications Covered Entity: General Hospital Issue: Impermissible Disclosure; Confidential Communications A patient alleged that a general hospital disclosed protected health information when a hospital staff person left a message on the patient’s home phone answering machine, thereby failing to accommodate the patient’s request that communications of PHI be made only through her mobile or work phones. In response, the hospital instituted a number of actions to achieve compliance with the Privacy Rule. To resolve this matter to the satisfaction of OCR, the hospital: retrained an entire Department with ...read more |
| Enforcement Actions Ensure Patients Receive Timely Access to their Records, at a Reasonable Cost Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the resolution of three investigations concerning potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule's patient right of access provision. These cases are part of a collective effort, bringing the total 41 cases, to drive compliance on right of access under the law. “These three right of access actions send an important message to dental practices of all sizes that are covered by the HIPAA ...read more |
| Dentist Revises Process to Safeguard Medical Alert PHI Covered Entity: Health Care Provider Issue: Safeguards, Minimum Necessary An OCR investigation confirmed allegations that a dental practice flagged some of its medical records with a red sticker with the word "AIDS" on the outside cover, and that records were handled so that other patients and staff without need to know could read the sticker. When notified of the complaint filed with OCR, the dental practice immediately removed the red AIDS sticker from the complainant's file. To resolve this matter, OCR also required the practice to revise its policies and operating ...read more |
| Outpatient Surgical Facility Corrects Privacy Procedure in Research Recruitment Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures An outpatient surgical facility disclosed a patient's protected health information (PHI) to a research entity for recruitment purposes without the patient's authorization or an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or privacy-board-approved waiver of authorization. The outpatient facility reportedly believed that such disclosures were permitted by the Privacy Rule. OCR provided technical assistance to the covered entity regarding the requirement that covered entities seeking to disclose PHI for research recruitment purposes must obtain either a valid patient authorization or an Institutional Review Board ...read more |
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