Required Readings McWay, D. C. (2013). Today's Health Information Management: An Integrated Approach (2nd Edition). Publisher: Cengage, ISBN-13: 978-1-133-59247-1 Read Chapters 3 & 4.
Article: Berner, E.S. Ethical and Legal Issues in the Use of Health Information Technology to Improve Patient Safety. HEC Forum 20 (3) pages 243-258
The objective of this assignment is to become familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and apply it to a simulated physician practice.
Scenario You are the new office manager at Midwest OB-Gyne Affiliates. OB-Gyne is a small practice with three obstetricians, one nurse practitioner, a receptionist, two nurses, and one coder/biller. The practice also includes the equipment and staff to do ultrasonography on pregnant women. Each physician and the nurse practitioner are expected to see at least six patients a day.
One of your first tasks is to ensure that the office is in compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The staff has shared with you the following concerns. The physicians would like to have your recommendations on how each should be handled, including the reference to the appropriate Privacy Rule regulation by number.
1. In the past, we gave patients a video of their ultrasounds. Can we still do that? 2. We fax prenatal records to the hospital delivery room close to the patient’s due date. Can we still do that? 3. Can we notify the husbands or appropriate persons when a pregnant patient is in labor and that person is not with the patient? 4. College-age students come to the clinic for family planning assistance. They have requested that all bills and contact be made to their college address and cell phones instead of to their parents. Their insurance is usually through their parents. What should we do? 5. We would like to make arrangements for a new company to do transcription. This company uses transcriptionists who are located outside the United States. 6. Patients often bring in copies of medical records from other physicians. They are also starting to bring in something they call personal health records. What should we do with these records?
Directions 1. Format your response in a report to the physicians. 2. For each concern listed: a. Identify the regulation by citing the specific paragraph number. There may be more than one. All must be found. b. Interpret the regulation that addresses this concern. c. Recommend the appropriate process. 3. You do not need to address state law. 4. Include any and all assumptions you made about the practice to determine your response.
Use the scholarly criteria mentioned in a previous link (in the Unit Introduction) to find articles concerning this topic. The article topics are broad so that you can experiment and find interesting articles that pertains to this subject.
