HHS is planning to reform HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 in an effort to improve care coordination. In remarks to the Heritage Foundation July 26, HHS Secretary Alex Azar conveyed that HHS is starting a review of regulations that interfere with coordination among doctors, hospitals, and payers.
Q: Is texting an acceptable way to communicate with a patient? Do we need to ask the patient to sign a form with a statement to the effect that they prefer that we text information on test results, etc., rather than leave a voicemail asking them to call?
Your organization does not have to look far to see how important it is for your business associates (BA) to comply with HIPAA. Take a glance at the OCR website for breaches involving 500 or more patients. BAs are regularly involved in these breaches along with covered entities (CE). However, the bad press almost always goes to the CEs.
Boys Town National Research Hospital, in Omaha, Nebraska, announced July 20 that it had discovered a data security incident that may have affected the personal health information of 105,309 individuals.
This month's HIPAA Q&A answers readers' questions about doctor's notes for employers, checking a neighbor's medical records, retaining records of out-of-state patients, and training temporary nursing staff.
