Preventing readmissions is a hot topic these days. CMS has imposed new financial penalties for organizations that don't successfully prevent 30-day readmissions for patients with certain medical conditions, and organizations are always looking for new strategies to ensure patients are successfully able to move to the next level of care.
Q: My facility no longer registers patients under aliases, but will allow them to opt out of the patient directory. However, opting out of the registry will not exclude our patients from the operating room (OR) list. At one time, the facility's CEO received the daily OR list with full patient names so he could visit board members, donors, or others whom he knows at our facility. HIM changed this practice so that patients' names would not be on the OR schedule provided to the CEO. The CEO took this matter to the hospital attorney, who said the names could be included because the use of PHI by the CEO to determine whether and when a patient visit is appropriate is permitted by HIPAA as it is part of healthcare operations. Is it a violation of HIPAA for the CEO to use PHI to track patients in this manner?
Q: If someone calls a facility to schedule an appointment for a patient, is it a violation of HIPAA to admit the patient receives care at the practice? For example, the practice where I work often helps victims of domestic abuse. We received a call from a patient's estranged spouse who asked to schedule an appointment for the patient when, in reality, he was trying to determine the whereabouts of his spouse so he could harm her. I realize this is a safety issue but wonder whether it is also a HIPAA issue.
Mobile devices have changed the way people share and access information in their personal and professional lives. Smartphones and tablets may make it easier and faster for people to communicate, store, and access information, but they present risks if lost, stolen, or hacked. This can be especially challenging in the healthcare industry as it has become common for providers to use various mobile tools, including smartphones, laptops, notebooks, tablets, phablets, personal digital assistants, USB devices, digital cameras, and radiofrequency identification devices, to communicate with colleagues and access applications.
