HIPAA compliance and patient records go hand in hand. The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a press release about the importance of patient confidentiality. This is due to the fact that 2019-nCoV has broken out in many countries.
As a result, infectious disease can change the circumstances in which releasing patient information is necessary. Coronavirus necessitates the need to share some of this information with officials. Agencies like the Center for Disease Control can receive PHI (protected health information). As a result, public health emergencies are the only times it can be shared.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule lets covered entities share protected health information with organizations like the CDC and also government health departments. These efforts are to alleviate the potential spread of disease.
“Friends, family members, and others involved in the care of a patient” are also candidates to receive this information. This is so that the patient’s location and other extremely important information is in the hands of the caregiver. This is also so that there is someone to inform of the patient’s condition.
HHS states that officials need to obtain verbal consent from patients. When patients cannot give verbal consent, covered entities must use the best judgement. The public cannot receive identifiable information.
Where American Medical Compliance steps in
American Medical Compliance can help streamline the processes for you. Through our large library of courses, compliance will be easier than ever. Our courses have all the information you need to maintain HIPAA and OSHA compliance.
We dedicate all of our resources into creating the easiest compliance solutions for you and your organization.
To learn more about the services we provide, click here:
https://americanmedicalcompliance.com/our-services/
For another, more detailed blog on the coronavirus, click here:
https://americanmedicalcompliance.com/coronavirus-is-spreading-worldwide/
And finally, for more information, click on this link:
