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.
| 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 ...read more |
| Issued by: Office for Civil Rights (OCR) What if a HIPAA covered entity (or business associate) uses a CSP to maintain ePHI without first executing a business associate agreement with that CSP? Answer: If a covered entity (or business associate) uses a CSP to maintain (e.g., to process or store) electronic protected health information (ePHI) without entering into a BAA with the CSP, the covered entity (or business associate) is in violation of the HIPAA Rules. 45 C.F.R §§164.308(b)(1) and §164.502(e). OCR has entered into a resolution agreement and corrective action plan with a covered entity that OCR determined ...read more |
| Pharmacy Chain Institutes New Safeguards for PHI in Pseudoephedrine Log Books Covered Entity: Pharmacies Issue: Safeguards A grocery store based pharmacy chain maintained pseudoephedrine log books containing protected health information in a manner so that individual protected health information was visible to the public at the pharmacy counter. Initially, the pharmacy chain refused to acknowledge that the log books contained protected health information. OCR issued a written analysis and a demand for compliance. Among other corrective actions to resolve the specific issues in the case, OCR required that the pharmacy chain implement national policies and procedures to safeguard the ...read more |
| Can a covered entity refuse to disclose ePHI to an app chosen by an individual because of concerns about how the app will use or disclose the ePHI it receives? No. The HIPAA Privacy Rule generally prohibits a covered entity from refusing to disclose ePHI to a third-party app designated by the individual if the ePHI is readily producible in the form and format used by the app. See 45 CFR 164.524(a)(1), (c)(2)(ii), (c)(3)(ii). The HIPAA Rules do not impose any restrictions on how an individual or the individual’s designee, such as an app, may use the health information ...read more |
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