Hospital Implements New Minimum Necessary Polices for Telephone Messages
Hospital Implements New Minimum Necessary Polices for Telephone Messages
Covered Entity: General Hospital
Issue: Minimum Necessary; Confidential Communications
A hospital employee did not observe minimum necessary requirements
when she left a telephone message with the daughter of a patient that
detailed both her medical condition and treatment plan. An OCR
investigation also indicated that the confidential communications
requirements were not followed, as the employee left the message at the
patient’s home telephone number, despite the patient’s instructions to
contact her through her work number. To resolve the issues in this case,
the hospital developed and implemented several new procedures. One
addressed the issue of minimum necessary information in telephone
message content. Employees were trained to provide only the minimum
necessary information in messages, and were given specific direction as
to what information could be left in a message. Employees also were
trained to review registration information for patient contact
directives regarding leaving messages. The new procedures were
incorporated into the standard staff privacy training, both as part of a
refresher series and mandatory yearly compliance training.
| SCOPE OF CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT UNDER 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6 Covered entities and those persons rendered accountable by general principles of corporate criminal liability may be prosecuted directly under 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6, and the knowingly element of the offense set forth in that provision requires only proof of knowledge of the facts that constitute the offense. MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE GENERAL COUNSEL DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES AND THE SENIOR COUNSEL TO THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL You have asked jointly for our opinion concerning the scope of 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6 (2000), the criminal enforcement provision of the ...read more |
| Health Plan Corrects Impermissible Disclosure of PHI through Training, Mitigation, and Sanctions Covered Entity: Health Plans Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures An employee of a major health insurer impermissibly disclosed the protected health information of one of its members without following the insurer's authorization and verification procedures. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required the health insurer to train its staff on the applicable policies and procedures and to mitigate the harm to the individual. In addition, the employee who made the disclosure was counseled and given a written warning. ...read more |
| Pharmacy Chain Revises Process for Disclosures to Law Enforcement Covered Entity: Pharmacies Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures A chain pharmacy disclosed protected health information to municipal law enforcement officials in a manner that did not conform to the provisions of the Privacy Rule. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required this chain to revise its national policy regarding law enforcement's access to patient protected health information to comply with the Privacy Rule requirements, including that disclosures of protected health information to law enforcement only be made in response to written requests from ...read more |
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