HIPAA Training& Compliance

What is HIPAA? HIPAA seeks to establish standardized mechanisms for electronic data interchange, security, and confidentiality of all healthcare-related data. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 199 , or !HIPAA" includes #unishments for anyone caught $iolating #atient #ri$acy. Those %ho do so for financial gain can be fined as much as &'(),))) or go to *ail for as many as 1) years. +e at ,H-P, try our best to gi$e #atients the highest .uality healthcare. As #art of the #romise to care for them, %e kee# information about their health #ri$ate to com#ly %ith HIPAA. What is confidential? All information about #atients is considered #ri$ate or !confidential". This includes #ersonal information of the #atient such as name, address, age, social security number including the reason for #atient sickness, treatment, medications, care gi$er notes and #ast medical history. If you re$eal any of this information to someone %ho doesn/t need to kno%, you ha$e $iolated a #atient/s confidentiality, and you ha$e broken the la%. Do you need to know? 0ost of the HIPAA is common sense. 1ust follo% the sim#le !need to kno%" rule. If you need to see #atient information to #erform your *ob, you are allo%ed to do so. 2$en doctors and nurses don/t ha$e the right to look at all the information about e$ery #atient. 3or e4am#le, a doctor caring for children has no right to look at the medical record of adult #atients unless that doctor is hel#ing to care for them. 5o, before looking at a #atient/s health information, ask yourself one sim#le .uestion, !6o I need to kno% this to do my *ob7" If the ans%er is no, sto#. If the ans%er is yes, you ha$e nothing to %orry about. I could not help o erhearing As you do your day-to-day %ork, there is no doubt you %ill o$erhear #ri$ate health information. As long as you kee# it to yourself, you ha$e nothing to %orry about. This information includes the fact that the #atient is at the healthcare facility in the first #lace. ! en the trash is pri ate Trash cans can tra# you into $iolating HIPAA. Patient information stored on #a#er or com#uter disk should ne$er be thro%n into an o#en trashcan, as no one kno%s %ho might end u# seeing the trash once it lea$es the building. Who"s the #oss? +e ha$e #ri$acy official to make sure no one breaks the #ri$acy rule. This #erson is res#onsible for coming u# %ith the organization/s #olicies and enforcing them. 3or a sim#lified $ersion of HIPAA, $isit htt#899en.%iki#edia.org9%iki9HIPAA

Test for HIPAA #eginners 1: ;ou are %orking in the emergency de#artment and see your neighbor has *ust arri$ed in labor. 5he/s only si4 months #regnant. ,alling her husband to tell him is a $iolation of HIPAA. True 3alse ': +hen are you allo%ed to re#eat #ri$ate health information that you hear on the *ob7 After you no longer %ork in the hos#ital After the #atient dies -nly if you kno% the #atient %on/t mind -nly %hen it/s necessary to do your *ob <: ;our sister/s friend is ha$ing surgery at one of the local hos#itals, but she is not sure %hich one. 5he %ants to send flo%ers and she asks you to find out %hether her friend is at your facility. +hat should you do7 Tell your sister that you cannot find out for her, but that she can call the information desk and ask %hether her friend is staying there. 5earch for friend/s name in the com#uter database. 3ind a list of #atients ha$ing surgery and look for the friend/s name. Ask all the nurses %hether they ha$e seen your sister/s friend. =: ;ou are cleaning u# at nurses/ station and find an o#en recycling bin full of #a#er. ;ou can see names, addresses, and numbers on the #a#er. +hat should you do7 >othing. ;ou can/t be sure the information has anything to do %ith the #atients. 5ho% it to your su#er$isor in case the information is #ri$ate #atient information. Ask the nurses %ho %ork there %hat information is on the #a#er. >one of the abo$e. (: +hat .uestion should you ask yourself before looking at #atient information7 +ould the #atient mind if I looked at this7 6o I need to kno% this to do my *ob7 ,an anyone see %hat I am doing7 Am I curious7 : Health care %orkers can go to *ail for selling #atient information. True 3alse ?: 6octors are #ermitted to see all information about e$ery #atient. True 3alse @: Patient information should ne$er be thro%n a%ay in an unlocked bin unless it has been shredded or destroyed. True 3alse 9: If you re$eal confidential information to some one %ho does not need to kno% it, you are breaking the la%. True 3alse 1): The #ri$acy official enforces HIPAA #ri$acy rules. True 3alse Print >ame8 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 5ignature8 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 6ate8 AAAAAAAA