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HIPAA: Are You In Violation?
By Virginia Thornley, MD, a Neurologist and Epileptologist in private practice who blogs at Neurologybuzz.com
HIPAA (Health Information Portability Accountability
Act of 1996) is the privacy care act involving electronic
transfer of records so that the identity of a patient remains
unknown. It includes any electronic, written or oral
transfer of information. When I was a kid, there was no
such thing. As a grown-up medical professional, you are
surrounded constantly by HIPAA. Charts are placed on
doors, so the names are hidden, instead of names initials
are used when referring to patients in clinical conferences,
doors are shut while rounding in the hallways when the
attending begins his usual discussions with residents and
medical students. It is an excellent way of protecting
patient ID. It can impede or delay more fruitful activities.
It can also be a bit murky so when in doubt sometimes it is
better to remain mum. If the good intentions behind the
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act don’t convince you perhaps the penalties will. Penalties
are hefty and can be up to $25,000 for a violation,
maximal at $50,000 or 1 year of imprisonment depending
on the severity of the offense.
Sometimes when you are rounding, and there is only a
curtain that serves as a partition between two patients
how does one get around it? Does it violate HIPAA when
discussing someone’s care when you are clearly within
earshot of someone else? Technically speaking, yes it
does. Do authorities turn a blind eye? Of course, they
do. Unless a quarter of a million health care facilities
remodel their patient rooms, you can’t get around not
speaking about someone’s case in earshot of other
people. Most rounds occur in the morning outside of
visiting hours. But sometimes you have to round in the
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www.PhysiciansOfficeResource.com