Q: My brother claims he read in his dentist's HIPAA statement that information was disclosed to CIA and other government agencies. I suspect that his dentist was editorializing, but wanted to check. Could you explain what should be included in a HIPAA statement that should be in physician/dentist offices? Can you direct me to the official statement?
The HIPAA Omnibus Rule, which includes modifications to the privacy and security rules, is in full effect now. And guess what? There's no reason to be terrified.
Despite gains in compliance and security potentially linked to industry emphasis on the HIPAA Omnibus Rule, some dangerous gaps remain regarding corporate email and file transfer habits.
When outpatient hospitals and physicians switch to ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes October 1, they will still continue to use CPT® codes to report procedures. But some facilities are planning to use the new procedure code set, ICD-10-PCS, as well.
When OCR resumes its HIPAA audits sometime this year, healthcare organizations can expect members of the audit team to focus on key issues identified by the federal agency.
