Skip to main content

HIPAA & Chaplaincy

Chaplaincy & Recent Changes to HIPAA
Recent changes strengths the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and are designed to ease the public’s overall comfort with electronic medical recording keeping. One of the most significant changes to the HIPAA regulations is the new rules concerning the breach of protected health information (PHI).

What is a Breach?

A breach is, generally, an impermissible use or disclosure under the Privacy Rule that compromises the security or privacy of the protected health information such that the use or disclosure poses a significant risk of financial, reputational, or other harm to the affected individual.

What is an example of a breach PHI?

  • An employee accesses the record of a patient outside the performance of their job duties.
  • An unencrypted laptop containing PHI is lost or stolen.
  • PHI is sent to the wrong fax, mailing address, an email address or printer.

What happens if a breach occurs?
  • Generally speaking, your institution’s HIPAA compliance officer will need to be notified of all suspected breaches immediately upon discovery of the breach.
  • The HIPAA officer determines if there exists a reportable breach.
  • If a reportable breach of PHI has occurred your institution’s HIPAA compliance office handles the notification.
  • Every individual whose unsecured PHI has been breached must be notified in writing as soon as feasible and within a 60 day period.
  • Breaches are required to be reported to Health and Human Services (HHS).
  • If less than 500 individuals are affected: log and report annually.If more than 500 individuals are affected: HHS must be notified at the same time the patient is notified. The media must also be notified.


How can Clinical Chaplains help prevent breaches of PHI?

Be alert about your responsibilities to protect PHI while carrying out your tasks. Take special care in these situations:

  • When faxing be sure to always use your institution’s official fax cover sheet and reconfirm the recipient’s fax number before transmittal.
  • Do not put PHI, including patient stickers and medication labels, in regular trash. Shred or place in privacy bins for special disposal.
  • When retrieving information from the printer or faxing PHI determine each page corresponds to the correct patient
  • Double check the name of the patient before you put information in the envelopes for mailing.
  • Log off your computer prior to stepping away from it.
  • Use password protection and encryption features for your Blackberry, cell phone and other mobile devices such as thumb drives and CDs.
  • Only store PHI on mobile devices when absolutely necessary for your institution’s business purposes and delete as soon as feasible.
  • Encrypt any email containing PHI sent outside your institution.
  • Never share your password or use someone else’s sign on information as this could lead to you being disciplined by your institution.

For further information on the new HIPAA standards follow the link below:
US Department of Health and Human Services

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

THE WOUNDED HEALER

“The painful irony is that the minister, who wants to touch the center of men’s lives, finds himself on the periphery; often pleading in vain for admission….He never seems to be where the action is.” I wonder if this says more about Henri Nouwen than it does about the minister’s involvement in critical and crisis situations. “ The minister, the story tells us, is sitting among the poor, binding his/her wounds one at a time, waiting for the moment when he/she will be needed. The minister is called to be the wounded healer, the one who must look after his/her wounds and at the same time be prepared to heal the wounds of others.” --- Henri Nouwen. In his article titled “Wounded Healers”, Thomas Maeder quotes a child of psychiatrists (both parents): “I Think my parents were crazy, I think that, somehow, being psychiatrists kept them in line. They used it as a protection. They’re both quite crazy, but their jobs give them really good cover.” It is no secret that the so-called “helping...
Read more

Director of Yoth Ministries Position

First United Methodist Church a 1200 member downtown congregation in Little Rock, Arkansas is seeking a qualified applicant for the position of Director of Youth Ministries. The director is responsible for all aspects of youth ministry for a constituency of almost 100 youth between the ages of 12 to 18. A college degree in a related field is expected. A passion for Christian discipleship with young people and their families is vital. A competitive salary with benefits--contact Sr. Pastor, Rev. Michael L. Mattox. mmattox@fumclr.org Cover letter and complete resume with references should be sent to: Sr. Pastor, Rev. Michael L. Mattox. 723 Center Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
Read more

CPSP Philippines

Dr. Cesar Espineda with several CPE trainees at May 14 Symposium in Baguio City, Philippines In April and May of 2011 Dr. Raymond Lawrence, General Secretary of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy, and CPSP Diplomate and chair of the Accreditation Committee Dr. Cesar G. Espineda visited the Philippines to provide training and assessment for the clinical pastoral training being done. On April 20, 2011, in a ceremony in Asin, Benguet, Philippines, Dr. Raymond Lawrence formally inaugurated the first CPSP Philippine Chapter, Baguio City. At the same event, Bukal Life Care & Counseling Center and the Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary were designated as training centers of the CPSP in the Philippines. Dr. Ryan Clark, professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling at the Seminary, and Ms. Celia Munson, the training coordinator for Bukal, represented these institutions at the event. This new Chapter, the second Chapter in Asia after Hong Kong, is the culmination of work ...
Read more