Please answer TWO the following five questions.
1. Who would you include on a steering committee that is responsible for ongoing HIPAA privacy compliance? Who should lead this committee?
2. What type of ongoing educational activities would you provide for the workforce of your organization to facilitate compliance with the HIPAA privacy rule? Who would be included in these educational activities?
3. How would you ensure that you have identified all of your organization’s current business associates and developed business associate agreements with them?
4. As the privacy officer for a covered entity, you are aware that protected health information has been accessed by an unauthorized individual. What type of analysis will you conduct to determine whether it constitutes a “breach” under HIPAA?
5. Do you believe that the twelve “public interest and benefit” exceptions to the authorization requirement are warranted? Do you believe that any of these exceptions should require the patient’s authorization under the HIPAA Privacy Rule?
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
As a medical professor, it is important to educate and train future healthcare professionals on the importance of HIPAA privacy compliance. This includes not only understanding the rules and regulations but also implementing ongoing education and ensuring proper protocols are in place when a breach occurs.
1. A steering committee responsible for ongoing HIPAA privacy compliance should include representatives from each department that handles protected health information (PHI), such as medical records, billing, and IT. Additionally, legal and compliance personnel should be involved. The committee should be led by a compliance officer or privacy officer who has expertise in HIPAA regulations and who can enforce policies and procedures.
2. Ongoing educational activities should include regular training and updates on HIPAA regulations and policies, as well as risks associated with breaches. All employees, including clinical and non-clinical staff, should be included in these activities. This can be done through in-person training, online courses, or newsletters and emails.
3. To identify all of our organization’s current business associates and develop business associate agreements with them, we can request a list of business associates from all departments that handle PHI. This includes vendors, contractors, and subcontractors. We would then review each business associate’s agreement and ensure that it includes the necessary provisions to comply with HIPAA privacy regulations.
4. If protected health information has been accessed by an unauthorized individual, we would conduct a risk assessment to determine if it constituted a breach under HIPAA. This includes evaluating the nature and extent of PHI involved, the unauthorized persons who accessed the information, and whether there is a high risk of harm to the individual whose information was accessed. If it is determined to be a breach, we would follow the necessary breach notification protocols.
5. The twelve exceptions to the authorization requirement under HIPAA’s Privacy Rule are necessary in certain circumstances, such as for public health purposes, law enforcement, and research. However, some of these exceptions may require additional safeguards to protect patient privacy. For example, the research exception should only be utilized when there are appropriate data sharing agreements and the minimum necessary amount of information is disclosed. Ultimately, the patient’s privacy should always be a top priority, and any use of their PHI should be carefully considered and authorized when appropriate.