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In This Issue:
As many staff know, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) goes into effect on April 14. With the new mandate, many questions may arise, those that may or may not have been answered in HIPAA training sessions. The following is a sampling of frequently asked HIPAA questions and answers. If you need further information on any of the following explanations, contact your supervisor or Debbie Polansky, BWH privacy project manager, at ext. 2-6676.
Q: Under the new mandate, may office staff or pharmacists leave messages for patients at their homes to either confirm an appointment or inform patients that their prescription is ready?A: Communicating with patients at their homes through mail or phone messages is permitted. However, in order to safeguard an individual’s privacy, staff should limit the amount of information disclosed on an answering machine. Leave only a name and number to confirm an appointment or ask the individual to call back.
Q: May office staff use sign-in sheets or call out the names of their patients in waiting rooms?A: Yes, both are permitted, as long as the information disclosed is appropriately limited. For example, the sign-in sheet may not display medical information (e.g., the medical problem for which the patient is being seen) that is not necessary for the purpose of the sheet.
Q: Are clinicians and other staff prohibited from maintaining patient medical charts at the bedside or outside of exam rooms? A: No. Clinicians must evaluate what measures make sense in their environment and tailor their practices and safeguards accordingly. However, additional measures, such as facing the chart toward the wall to protect the patient’s name or limiting access to patient care areas, are encouraged.
Training is still available If you have not yet attended HIPAA training required of all BWH staff, consider attending one of the following sessions taking place in the Bornstein Amphitheater: Thursday, April 3: 6:30-7:30 a.m., 9:30-10:30 a.m.Friday, April 4: 2:30-3:30 p.m.Thursday, April 10: 5:30-6:30 p.m.Friday, April 11: 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Seating will be on a first-come basis, so staff should arrive 15 minutes prior to all sessions to sign-in. Look for more HIPAA Q & A to appear in upcoming issues of BWH Bulletin.