As social distancing efforts ramp up to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), healthcare providers are turning to telehealth as a viable mode of communication with patients, who are being discouraged from making in-person visits to healthcare facilities when possible.
The healthcare industry in the United States has experienced a significant increase in ransomware attacks, and the trend is likely to continue. It’s easy money for the hackers.
Q: An employee in a psychiatric hospital’s billing department sees a fellow parishioner’s name. He calls other parishioners to tell them that this individual is a patient at the hospital, and they share this information on a prayer chain. Suddenly, several hundred people know that this parishioner is a patient in a psychiatric hospital. Is this an acceptable disclosure?
As the novel coronavirus remains a threat across the globe, healthcare organizations should brush up on procedures for handling and sharing protected health information (PHI) during the outbreak of an infectious disease.
Q: What are the HIPAA rules regarding disclosures of health information to a patient’s same-sex partner when the couple is not married or the partner is not considered a relative under the law?
CMS and the HHS Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology finalized a pair of complementary rules on March 9 aimed at improving interoperability and providing patients with free and secure access to their health data.
As we move into a new decade, the burgeoning partnerships between giant tech companies and healthcare organizations bring great promise and many questions.
Q: Sometimes employees don’t seem to have a great understanding of HIPAA even after they have received HIPAA training. What HIPAA training strategies work best?
