Home Health & Hospice Week

Even if you have a top-notch privacy compliance program in place, you're bound to be confronted with patient complaints from time to time - and how you respond can make all the difference in the world when it comes to fending off legal action or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act penalties. HIPAA experts offer these four tips to make sure you react to complaints appropriately: 1. Appoint the right privacy officer. Head off lawsuits by responding to complaints earnestly and courteously. The person who deals with patients who have complaints "needs to be the right personality in a very difficult situation with one chance to prove goodwill and credibility," offers attorney Bill Sarraille with the DC office of Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn. "Your privacy officer needs to understand what the situation is, needs to be a good listener, needs to be focused on fixing the problem as best as it can be fixed without making excuses," he advises. 2. Polish your complaints process. Don't add fuel to the fire by constructing an impenetrable complaint procedure. HIPAA makes it easier for patients to make their voices heard, says attorney Stephen Bernstein with McDermott Will & Emery in Boston. "And the last thing anyone wants to do is fuel that by having a process that's complicated and confusing." 3. Nip patterns in the bud. "If you get a complaint, you want to make sure it's not a programmatic thing" - such as a computer glitch that spits out protected health information or lax security, stresses attorney Michael Roach with Michael C. Roach & Associates in Chicago. 4. Maintain an efficient health information privacy program. A complete and well-documented privacy program can serve two purposes. It helps prevent bad things from happening, and if something does go awry, it helps your defense. "It's one weapon you take away from the plaintiffs," Roach remarks. Editor's Note: For more information on HIPAA, see Eli's Health Information Compliance Alert and Eli's HIPAA Training Alert at www.eliresearch.com.