Mental Health Center Provides Access and Revises Policies and Procedures
Mental Health Center Provides Access and Revises Policies and Procedures
Covered Entity: Mental Health Center
Issue: Access, Restrictions
The complainant alleged that a mental health center (the "Center")
refused to provide her with a copy of her medical record, including
psychotherapy notes. OCR’s investigation revealed that the Center
provided the complainant with an opportunity to review her medical
record, including the psychotherapy notes, with her therapist, but the
Center did not provide her with a copy of her records. The Privacy Rule
requires covered entities to provide individuals with access to their
medical records; however, the Privacy Rule exempts psychotherapy notes
from this requirement. Although the Center gave the complainant the
opportunity to review her medical record, this did not negate the
Center’s obligation to provide the complainant with a copy of her
records. Among other corrective action taken, the Center provided the
complainant with a copy of her medical record and revised its policies
and procedures to ensure that it provides timely access to all
individuals.
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Direct Liability of Business Associates In 2009, Congress enacted the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act,1 making business associates of covered entities directly liable for compliance with certain requirements of the HIPAA Rules. Consistent with the HITECH Act, the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a final rule in 2013 to modify the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Breach Notification, and Enforcement Rules.2 Among other things, the final rule identifies provisions of the HIPAA Rules that apply directly to business associates and for which business associates are directly liable.3 As set forth in the HITECH ...read more |
| Pharmacy Chain Revises Process for Disclosures to Law Enforcement Covered Entity: Pharmacies Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures A chain pharmacy disclosed protected health information to municipal law enforcement officials in a manner that did not conform to the provisions of the Privacy Rule. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required this chain to revise its national policy regarding law enforcement's access to patient protected health information to comply with the Privacy Rule requirements, including that disclosures of protected health information to law enforcement only be made in response to written requests from ...read more |
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