HIPAA Compliance & Patient-Physician Relationship Management

HIPAA Survival Guide
The HITECH Act is transformational legislation that anticipates a massive expansion in the exchange of electronic protected health information (ePHI). The HITECH Act widens the scope of privacy and security protections available under HIPAA; increases potential legal liability for non-compliance; and provides more enforcement of HIPAA rules.

Action Steps for Compliance
With all of the activity surrounding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it has been easy for group health plans to lose sight of the September 23, 2013 deadline set forth in the final rules implemented under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA") as updated by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ("HITECH").  The September 23, 2013 deadline applies to group health plans and business associates alike. The following is a summary of the most significant changes to HIPAA.

Position Paper - Patient, Public Relationships: American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards Statement
User-created content and communications on Web-based applications, such as networking sites, media sharing sites, or blog platforms, have dramatically increased in popularity over the past several years, but there has been little policy or guidance on the best practices to inform standards for the professional conduct of physicians in the digital environment. Areas of specific concern include the use of such media for nonclinical purposes, implications for confidentiality, the use of social media in patient education, and how all of this affects the public’s trust in physicians as patient–physician interactions extend into the digital environment. Opportunities afforded by online applications represent a new frontier in medicine as physicians and patients become more connected. This position paper from the American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards examines and provides recommendations about the influence of social media on the patient–physician relationship, the role of these media in public perception of physician behaviors, and strategies for physician–physician communication that preserve confidentiality while best using these technologies.

What is HIPAA and Why Should I Care?
HIPAA, which stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a collection of federal laws and regulations that was passed in 1996, and has wide ranging impacts for healthcare providers, health plans, and businesses related to the healthcare industry. HIPAA is administered by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. These laws can be broken down into three categories of Rules: Transaction Rule, Security Rule and Privacy Rule. Failure to comply with HIPAA regulations can result in severe financial penalties, as well as criminal charges and jail time.

Download these samples

• Acknowledgment of Receipt of Notice Of Privacy Practices
• HIPAA Authorization for Release of Patient Records
• Business Associate Agreement
• General Policy Issues – Privacy of Patient Information
• Notice of Privacy Practices
• Psychotherapy Authorization for Release of Patient Records
• HIPAA Medical Records Release Log
• HIPAA Order Processing Form
• HIPAA Training
• Release-Disposition Form
• Waiting Room Copy Face Sheet