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HIPAA Tip: Notice of Privacy Practices
Beginning April 14, all physicians who are covered by HIPAA and have "direct treatment relationships" provide their patients with a written notice of the privacy practices they use to protect patients’ health information. Physicians with indirect treatment relationships—such as pathologists or consulting radiologists who only review films but have no patient contact—do not have to give patients a notice of privacy practices. As reported in the March 20 Alert, a hospital and medical staff members can have a joint "notice of privacy practices" for inpatients. Hospitals are not required to offer a joint notice, but many will do so. By now, your hospital should have sent you a notice detailing the "Organized Health Care Arrangement" or OHCA that exists between the medical staff and the hospital. That communication should tell you if the hospital plans to use a joint notice. You should, however, take the time to review this joint notice to be certain it is complete. A good benchmark is the notice-of-privacy-practices template provided as part of the CMA/PrivaPlan HIPAA Compliance ToolKit CD. If your hospital is not providing a joint notice, you will need to give your own notice to patients you first encounter at the hospital and make a good-faith effort to get written confirmation from the patients of the receipt of that information, as you would in your office. This requirement does not apply in emergencies; the notice can be given as soon as is "reasonably practicable." If you maintain the physical site where you provide treatment (your office, for example) you are also required to post your notice where it can be seen by your patients. If you do not maintain the site (e.g., the hospital), you do not have to post your notice. Members can download the privacy-practices template, which is included in ON-CALL document #1603, at CMA's members-only website. Nonmembers can purchase this and other ON-CALL documents for $2 per page at CMA's online bookstore. CMA thanks PrivaPlan for allowing this template to be added to the extensive HIPAA information available to members free through ON-CALL. As with all ON-CALL documents, this information is copyrighted and may not be distributed without permission. The privacy-practices template is just a sample of the invaluable information available to physicians on the CMA/PrivaPlan HIPAA Compliance ToolKit CD. The ToolKit also includes a step-by-step compliance plan and California-specific forms, policies, and procedures. CMA members can purchase the CD-ROM for a special discounted price of $325 (nonmembers $495). For more information, and/or to download an order form, click here. Contact: CMA’s HIPAA Hotline, 415/882-3311 or legalinfo@cmanet.org. Previous HIPAA Tips: HIPAA Tip: April 14 IS the Compliance Deadline HIPAA Tip: Chart CabinetsHow Sharp are Your HIPAA Tools? HIPAA Tip: Security Rule Delay HIPAA Tip: Using Patient Names HIPAA Tip: Using Reminder Postcards HIPAA Tip: Extension Does Not Apply to Privacy Rule HIPAA Tip: Inpatient/Outpatient Privacy Notice Requirements Differ HIPAA Tip: The Extension Deadline Has Passed—Now What?
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