Health Information Compliance Alert

If your office uses a fax machine for any type of communication, the chances that you'll send a document containing PHI to the wrong destination are high. However, there are steps you can take to mitigate this error. The following form, created by Ellen Dutton, CEO of Trenton, NJ's EDI Electronic Data Industries, Inc., provides a great example of how you can both acknowledge your faxing error and curtail any further disclosures.

How it works: "The Misdirected Fax form gets filled in online when a fax is sent to the wrong recipient regardless of the reason for the error," Dutton explains. Users save the form in the system for documentation, and then print and fax it to the phone number where the original fax was sent, she says. Key: Make sure to note the unintended recipient's name if it is known because that is important information for further mitigation, Dutton reminds.

"The language on the form is meant to inform the recipient of the error and of their responsibilities regarding the private information (PHI) that may be contained in the fax," she clarifies. Customize and use this form for your organization's faxing foibles and you'll control all potential HIPAA violations!