Health Information Compliance Alert
PLAY IT SAFE WITH ANSWERING MACHINE MESSAGES
Question: Can we leave phone messages on a patient's answering machine? Answer: Yes, but with some caveats, since when it comes to answering machine messages, "less is definitely more," advises Melissa Cornwell, HIPAA coordinator for Floyd Regional Medical Center in Rome, Ga.
Cornwell advises practices not to leave messages with medical information and notes that making any mention of radiology or biopsies or pap smears is over the line. In fact, she says, "don't leave more of a message than to say, 'Hi, this is so-and-so from doctor so-and-so's office. Please call me at such-and-such a number."
The best way to cover your bases is to take a preemptive approach, Cornwell urges. When the patient comes in for his first appointment, have him fill out a form that asks him to specify how you may leave phone messages whether on his machine or with a designated relative.
Health Information Compliance Alert
- COMPLIANCE STRATEGIES:
6 Steps Help You Guard Against Incidental PHI Disclosures
Understand what "reasonable" protection means for your office.
Fail to take appropriate steps to curb incidental [...] - Compliance Strategies:
Crack Down On PHI Leaks With Staff Discovery Tools
Empower workforce members to log and minimize all incidental PHI exposures.
Monitoring for incidental disclosures of [...] - Security:
Get Staff Rolling With Role-Based Access Control
Stop unauthorized PHI disclosures before they start with 'RBAC.'
If you don't limit the amount of [...] - Security Tool:
Encryption Policy Gives You The Keys To Wireless Security
Adapt this format to keep information thieves out and your PHI safe.
Encryption is your best [...] - Privacy Compliance:
Use These Quick Tips To Keep 'Removable Media' In Check
Don't let lost diskettes cause deep regrets.
You have your protected health information, but can you [...] - YOU BE THE SECURITY EXPERT:
ARE OFF-SITE CLINICS THAT BILL MANUALLY EXEMPT FROM HIPAA?
Read the situation below and decide how you would handle it before you compare it [...] - READER QUESTIONS:
LOOK TO STATES FOR CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY RULES
Question: Does HIPAA specify how medical records that document chemical or alcohol dependency have to [...] - READER QUESTIONS:
PLAY IT SAFE WITH ANSWERING MACHINE MESSAGES
Question: Can we leave phone messages on a patient's answering machine? Answer: Yes, but with [...] - READER QUESTIONS:
SHOULD WE HIRE ANOTHER OFFICER?
Question: Do we need to hire a security officer to begin our compliance efforts with [...] - INDUSTRY NEWS:
Bill Proposes EHRs For All Federal Employees, Ties Funding To Performance
But to allow carriers to create files automatically or benes to opt-in--that is the question.
A [...]
