Q: It is my understanding that we can make PHI disclosures using our EHR for payment/treatment/healthcare operations without a consent and that we do not need to track these requests for an accounting of disclosures. Has this changed?
Q: When it comes to conditions not related to hypertension, is it sufficient to attribute the diagnosis to another etiology or does the provider need to specifically document that the congestive heart failure (CHF) is not due to hypertension?
Q: A local school has asked us to come in and provide flu shots to the students and staff. Do we need to ask each person who gets the shot to sign our Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP), or can the school do so on their behalf and provide the information to them?
Q: I work for a home health agency. They’ve recently instructed us not to wear scrubs, lab coats, or anything that could obviously identify us as healthcare professionals. They’ve asked us to wear more business/professional casual attire because some patients complained that their neighbors saw nurses coming into the house and were concerned it was a HIPAA violation. Is this really a HIPAA concern, or could this be considered an incidental disclosure?
