CDC Compliance, Ethics, & Legal Considerations 2

Question 1

Under HIPAA, which action constitutes a 'minimum necessary' violation when dental staff access patient records?

Accepted Answer

A receptionist accessing full clinical notes to confirm tomorrow's appointments

Answer

HIPAA's minimum necessary standard requires staff to access only the PHI needed for their specific job function; a receptionist needs scheduling info, not full clinical notes.

Question 2

A dental office receives a subpoena for a patient's records. What is the FIRST step the office should take?

Accepted Answer

Notify the patient and consult the office attorney before releasing records

Answer

A subpoena alone (without a court order) generally requires patient notice and an opportunity to object, so legal counsel should be consulted before releasing records.

Question 3

Which federal law specifically prohibits physicians and dentists who have a financial relationship with an entity from referring Medicare/Medicaid patients to that entity for designated health services?

Accepted Answer

Stark Law (Physician Self-Referral Law)

Answer

The Stark Law prohibits self-referrals to entities in which the referring provider has a financial interest for certain designated health services billed to federal programs.

Question 4

A dental office administrator discovers a colleague has been billing for services not rendered to increase the practice's revenue. Under the False Claims Act, what should the administrator do?

Accepted Answer

Submit a qui tam lawsuit on behalf of the government to recover damages

Answer

The False Claims Act's qui tam provisions allow a private individual (whistleblower) to file a lawsuit on behalf of the government and potentially receive a portion of the recovery.

Question 5

When a dental patient requests an amendment to their health record under HIPAA, the covered entity may deny the request if:

Accepted Answer

The record was not created by the covered entity receiving the request

Answer

HIPAA permits denial of an amendment request when the covered entity did not create the information and the originating entity is available to respond.

(CDC) Certified Dental Coder Practice Test

(CDC) Certified Dental Coder Practice Test

CDC Compliance, Ethics, & Legal Considerations 2