General Surgery Coding Alert

Question: Our general surgeon wants to talk to another physician about a patient’s condition. She is planning to discuss the patient’s history and current diagnosis over the phone. I told her that she needs the patient’s permission before she can discuss the case but she says I’m wrong. Can you advise?

Mississippi Subscriber

Answer: Your surgeon is correct—you do not need the patient’s permission. “The Privacy Rule does not require you to obtain a signed consent form before sharing information for treatment purposes,” the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) says in its Fast Facts for Covered Entities document. “Health care providers can freely share information for treatment purposes without a signed patient authorization.”

Of course, if you are talking on the phone, you must still meet the regulations set out in the privacy rule to ensure that only the two physicians can hear the information being discussed. Make sure no one can overhear the doctor’s conversation and that the call is taking place on a secure line.