Q: Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule strictly prohibit the disclosure or request of an entire medical record? If not, does there need to be a case-by-case justification every time an entire record is disclosed?
As Medicare Advantage makes strides to becoming the new norm, organizations need to establish new processes, educate staff, and advocate for patients. Learn how your organization can keep pace with change before it’s too late to catch up.
Many healthcare organizations aren’t doing a great job assessing the HIPAA risks associated with third parties. Some are having a hard time devoting resources. And many are worried that their current manual risk management processes cannot keep pace with cyberthreats.
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) reached a settlement with Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, a Florida hospital, for allegedly violating the HIPAA Privacy Rule’s right of access provision when it failed to give a mother timely access to her unborn child’s records, according to an OCR press release.
Q: I work for a small rural hospital, and we have a lot of budget limitations for technology upgrades. Can we allow clinical staff to use their personal cell phones and mobile devices to communicate with patients? If so, how can we keep our calls, email, and text messages HIPAA compliant?
Healthcare continues to transition toward a value-based, pay-for-performance system, but there’s still confusion surrounding the different quality and value programs that have been introduced by CMS and how they impact hospitals. Clear up the confusion and put your organization on the path to success.