The state of Kentucky disclosed recently that a healthcare portal used by state employees was hacked and the protected health information of nearly 1,000 members of the Kentucky Employees’ Health Plan (KEHP) was exposed.
Q: When dealing with a public health emergency, which disclosures are permitted to the media and which are not? Does HIPAA allow for any identifiable information to be disclosed to news organizations if the intention is to protect the public at large?
Q: Like other hospitals, we have had many patients transported via ambulance with COVID-19 symptoms. Once these patients are tested for the virus, are we permitted under HIPAA to disclose their test results to the first responders who treated them and brought them to the hospital? Should the first responders be made aware when they have interacted with a patient who has tested positive?
Q: When our physicians need to talk to a patient’s family about the status of the patient, they usually can do so in a private room near the waiting area. But there have been instances when the private rooms are occupied and the physicians must discuss the status of a patient in the waiting room or in the hallway. Is this permissible under HIPAA?
As we cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to take a few extra measures to protect your organization, your patients, and your clients—as well as your data.
The Ohio-based company Management and Services Network (MNS) recently notified 30,132 patients that their protected health information (PHI) was potentially compromised during security incidents that occurred between April and July 2019.
Q: Is a covered entity permitted to disclose PHI for litigation purposes? For example, if a covered entity is being sued for malpractice, can it present information that would qualify as PHI during the trial? If so, what are the limits on the type of information it can disclose?
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a release May 6 to warn of advanced persistent threat (APT) groups using the COVID-19 pandemic to target healthcare organizations and other essential services.
