HIPAA, the “Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996,” provides federal protection of patient health information. You will be receiving weekly messages to help you understand the topic and how it impacts your job. Today’s HIPAA exercise asks you to stop, look and listen to see if confidential information is being handled appropriately.
Confidential information is all around us…
Go out into your work area and see what confidential information you can SEE and HEAR. Can patients and visitors see and hear it also? What could you change to safeguard the information? How would you want your confidential information treated?
If you’re a manager, please ensure all of your employees are informed of the contents of these messages and how it applies to your work area. Some ways of sharing the information include discussions during staff meetings, printing and posting this message or asking your employees if they have any further questions.