Private Practice Ceases Conditioning of Compliance with the Privacy Rule
Private Practice Ceases Conditioning of Compliance with the Privacy Rule
Covered Entity: Private Practice
Issue: Conditioning Compliance with the Privacy Rule
A physician practice requested that patients sign an agreement
entitled “Consent and Mutual Agreement to Maintain Privacy.” The
agreement prohibited the patient from directly or indirectly publishing
or airing commentary about the physician, his expertise, and/or
treatment in exchange for the physician’s compliance with the Privacy
Rule. A patient’s rights under the Privacy Rule are not contingent on
the patient’s agreement with a covered entity. A covered entity’s
obligation to comply with all requirements of the Privacy Rule cannot be
conditioned on the patient’s silence. OCR required the covered entity
to cease using the patient agreement that conditioned the entity’s
compliance with the Privacy Rule. Additionally, OCR required the covered
entity to revise its Notice of Privacy Practices.
| Public Hospital Corrects Impermissible Disclosure of PHI in Response to a Subpoena Covered Entity: General Hospital Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures A public hospital, in response to a subpoena (not accompanied by a court order), impermissibly disclosed the protected health information (PHI) of one of its patients. Contrary to the Privacy Rule protections for information sought for administrative or judicial proceedings, the hospital failed to determine that reasonable efforts had been made to insure that the individual whose PHI was being sought received notice of the request and/or failed to receive satisfactory assurance that the party seeking the information ...read more |
| HMO Revises Process to Obtain Valid Authorizations Covered Entity: Health Plans / HMOs Issue: Impermissible Uses and Disclosures; Authorizations A complaint alleged that an HMO impermissibly disclosed a member’s PHI, when it sent her entire medical record to a disability insurance company without her authorization. An OCR investigation indicated that the form the HMO relied on to make the disclosure was not a valid authorization under the Privacy Rule. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, the HMO created a new HIPAA-compliant authorization form and implemented a new policy that directs staff to obtain patient signatures ...read more |
| Thursday, November 10, 2022 Five Former Methodist Hospital Employees Charged with HIPAA Violations Memphis, TN – A federal grand jury has indicted five former Methodist Hospital Employees for conspiring with Roderick Harvey, 40, to unlawfully disclose patient information in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, commonly known as “HIPAA.” United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the indictment today. HIPAA was enacted by Congress in 1996 to create national standards to protect sensitive patient information from being disclosed without a patient’s knowledge or consent. HIPAA’s provisions make it a crime to disclose patient information, ...read more |
| Clinic Sanctions Supervisor for Accessing Employee Medical Record Covered Entity: Outpatient Facility Issue: Impermissible Use and Disclosure A hospital employee's supervisor accessed, examined, and disclosed an employee's medical record. OCR's investigation confirmed that the use and disclosure of protected health information by the supervisor was not authorized by the employee and was not otherwise permitted by the Privacy Rule. An employee's medical record is protected by the Privacy Rule, even though employment records held by a covered entity in its role as employer are not. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, a letter ...read more |
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