Private Practice Implements Safeguards for Waiting Rooms
Private Practice Implements Safeguards for Waiting Rooms
Covered Entity: Private Practice
Issue: Safeguards; Impermissible Uses and Disclosures
A staff member of a medical practice discussed HIV testing
procedures with a patient in the waiting room, thereby disclosing PHI to
several other individuals. Also, computer screens displaying patient
information were easily visible to patients. Among other corrective
actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required the
provider to develop and implement policies and procedures regarding
appropriate administrative and physical safeguards related to the
communication of PHI. The practice trained all staff on the newly
developed policies and procedures. In addition, OCR required the
practice to reposition its computer monitors to prevent patients from
viewing information on the screens, and the practice installed computer
monitor privacy screens to prevent impermissible disclosures.
| Physician Revises Faxing Procedures to Safeguard PHI Covered Entity: Health Care Provider Issue: Safeguards A doctor's office disclosed a patient's HIV status when the office mistakenly faxed medical records to the patient's place of employment instead of to the patient's new health care provider. The employee responsible for the disclosure received a written disciplinary warning, and both the employee and the physician apologized to the patient. To resolve this matter, OCR also required the practice to revise the office's fax cover page to underscore a confidential communication for the intended recipient. The office informed all its employees of the ...read more |
| Large Provider Revises Patient Contact Process to Reflect Requests for Confidential Communications Covered Entity: General Hospital Issue: Impermissible Disclosure; Confidential Communications A patient alleged that a general hospital disclosed protected health information when a hospital staff person left a message on the patient’s home phone answering machine, thereby failing to accommodate the patient’s request that communications of PHI be made only through her mobile or work phones. In response, the hospital instituted a number of actions to achieve compliance with the Privacy Rule. To resolve this matter to the satisfaction of OCR, the hospital: retrained an entire Department with ...read more |
| Wednesday, November 9, 2022 A federal grand jury in Newark, New Jersey, returned an indictment today charging an Indian national for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. According to court documents, Abhishek Krishnan, 40, previously resided in Wake County, North Carolina, before returning to his home country of India. After returning to India, Krishnan allegedly submitted numerous fraudulent PPP loan applications to federally insured banks, including on behalf of purported companies that were not registered business entities. ...read more |
| Private Practice Revises Access Procedure to Provide Access Despite an Outstanding Balance Covered Entity: Private Practice Issue: Access A complainant alleged that a private practice physician denied her access to her medical records, because the complainant had an outstanding balance for services the physician had provided. During OCR’s investigation, the physician confirmed that the complainant was not given access to her medical record because of the outstanding balance. OCR provided technical assistance to the physician, explaining that, in general, the Privacy Rule requires that a covered entity provide an individual access to their medical record within 30 days of ...read more |
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