Treatment Protocols & Procedures Flashcards

A provider follows a protocol of leaving voicemails with appointment reminders that include diagnosis information. Under HIPAA, this practice:

Answer: May be impermissible if the patient has not agreed to such disclosures

Voicemails containing PHI such as diagnosis details may be impermissible if the patient has not agreed to receive such information this way, per HIPAA's confidential communications rules.

Under HIPAA, a covered entity that develops an electronic treatment protocol system must conduct which of the following before deployment?

Answer: A Security Risk Analysis

The HIPAA Security Rule requires covered entities to conduct a risk analysis before deploying new systems that create, receive, maintain, or transmit ePHI.

A patient opts out of a hospital directory. Under HIPAA, if a caller asks whether the patient is receiving treatment at the hospital, staff must:

Answer: State that they cannot confirm or deny the patient's presence

When a patient opts out of the facility directory, the covered entity must not confirm or deny the patient's presence to callers.

A physician practice creates a protocol for sharing patient treatment summaries via secure email with specialists. To comply with HIPAA Security Rule transmission standards, the practice should ensure:

Answer: End-to-end encryption is applied and recipients are verified

HIPAA requires that ePHI transmitted electronically be protected with encryption and that the recipient's identity be verified to prevent unauthorized disclosure.

Under HIPAA's treatment provisions, which of the following is NOT a permitted reason to share PHI without patient authorization?

Answer: Sharing the patient's treatment history with their employer for wellness program eligibility

Sharing PHI with an employer for wellness program eligibility requires patient authorization; it is not a treatment, payment, or operations purpose.

A covered entity's protocol involves photographing wound treatment progress. These photos constitute PHI and must be:

Answer: Secured with the same safeguards as other PHI, including access controls and encryption

Clinical photographs that identify a patient are PHI and must be protected with appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.

A hospital's HIPAA training protocol requires all new clinical staff to complete training before accessing PHI. This requirement is mandated under which HIPAA rule?

Answer: The Privacy Rule and Security Rule workforce training requirements

Both the HIPAA Privacy Rule and Security Rule require covered entities to train all workforce members on policies and procedures relevant to PHI protection.