Outpatient Surgical Facility Corrects Privacy Procedure in Research Recruitment
Outpatient Surgical Facility Corrects Privacy Procedure in Research Recruitment
Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility
Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures
An outpatient surgical facility disclosed a patient's protected
health information (PHI) to a research entity for recruitment purposes
without the patient's authorization or an Institutional Review Board
(IRB) or privacy-board-approved waiver of authorization. The outpatient
facility reportedly believed that such disclosures were permitted by the
Privacy Rule. OCR provided technical assistance to the covered entity
regarding the requirement that covered entities seeking to disclose PHI
for research recruitment purposes must obtain either a valid patient
authorization or an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or
privacy-board-approved alteration to or waiver of authorization. Among
other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR
required the outpatient facility to: revise its written policies and
procedures regarding disclosures of PHI for research recruitment
purposes to require valid written authorizations; retrain its entire
staff on the new policies and procedures; log the disclosure of the
patient's PHI for accounting purposes; and send the patient a letter
apologizing for the impermissible disclosure.
| Private Practice Revises Process to Provide Access to Records Covered Entity: Private Practices Issue: Access A private practice failed to honor an individual's request for a complete copy of her minor son's medical record. OCR's investigation determined that the private practice had relied on state regulations that permit a covered entity to provide a summary of the record. OCR provided technical assistance to the covered entity, explaining that the Privacy Rule permits a covered entity to provide a summary of patient records rather than the full record only if the requesting individual agrees in advance to such a summary ...read more |
| Outpatient Surgical Facility Corrects Privacy Procedure in Research Recruitment Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures An outpatient surgical facility disclosed a patient's protected health information (PHI) to a research entity for recruitment purposes without the patient's authorization or an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or privacy-board-approved waiver of authorization. The outpatient facility reportedly believed that such disclosures were permitted by the Privacy Rule. OCR provided technical assistance to the covered entity regarding the requirement that covered entities seeking to disclose PHI for research recruitment purposes must obtain either a valid patient authorization or an Institutional Review Board ...read more |
| Mental Health Center Corrects Process for Providing Notice of Privacy Practices Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility Issue: Notice A mental health center did not provide a notice of privacy practices (notice) to a father or his minor daughter, a patient at the center. In response to OCR’s investigation, the mental health center acknowledged that it had not provided the complainant and his daughter with a notice prior to her mental health evaluation. To resolve this matter, the mental health center revised its intake assessment policy and procedures to specify that the notice will be provided and the clinician will attempt to ...read more |
| Radiologist Revises Process for Workers Compensation Disclosures Covered Entity: Health Care Provider Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures A radiology practice that interpreted a hospital patient’s imaging tests submitted a worker’s compensation claim to the patient’s employer. The claim included the patient’s test results. However, the patient was not covered by worker’s compensation and had not identified worker’s compensation as responsible for payment. OCR’s investigation revealed that the radiology practice had relied upon incorrect billing information from the treating hospital in submitting the claim. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, the practice apologized to ...read more |
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