2017 Webinar on Sharing Information with Family and Friends under HIPAA - What is Permissible or Not

Training Options Duration: 90 Minutes
Friday, July 21, 2017 | 10:00 AM PDT | 01:00 PM EDT

Overview: One of the toughest situations that healthcare professionals can face is whether or not to share information about an individual with the individual's family and friends involved with the individual's care. These situations arise when family and friends need to know more about an individual than may usually be available, to help with care, to help with payment for services, and to help calm the fears and properly inform those who are involved with the individual.

Disclosures to family and friends involved with an individual's care are allowable disclosures under HIPAA, subject to objection by the individual, and new guidance from HHS OCR is designed to clarify when these disclosures are allowed and what the process is for making the disclosures and for seeking permission from the individual when appropriate. The guidance and rules for these disclosures will be explained so that the correct decisions can be made in sharing information, including how to treat special situations such as same-sex marriage. Especially in situations where family and friends are likely to be present, such as in an Emergency Department or Immediate Care Clinic, the organization must train patient-facing and family and friend-facing staff on the proper ways and circumstances in which to ask the patient about sharing information, and to share information when the patient cannot provide permission. Mishandling these situations can lead to complaints and significant penalties.

Why should you Attend: Patient Rights under HIPAA have become a focus of the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. In addition to sharing information with the individuals who are being treated, there are rules for the appropriate sharing of information with family and friends involved with an individual's care, subject to objection by the individual. This area of compliance, like the individual rights of access of records, is a new focus of guidance from HHS and an area where HHS sees numerous complaints from the public.

Areas Covered in the Session:

When sharing PHI with family and friends is permitted
How to identify who may be considered a family member or friend
How a Personal Representative under HIPAA is different from just a family member or friend
The amount and kind of information that may be shared with family and friends
Using the telephone to discuss a patient with family or friends involved in the patient's care
Provisions for approval by the individual of disclosures to family and friends
Policies and procedures that should be in place for appropriate sharing of information with family and friends
Penalties for improper sharing of PHI with family and friends

Who Will Benefit:
Compliance Director
CEO
CFO
Privacy Officer
Security Officer
Information Systems Manager
HIPAA Officer
Chief Information Officer
Health Information Manager
Healthcare Counsel/Lawyer
Office Manager

Speaker Profile
Jim Sheldon-Dean is the founder and director of compliance services at Lewis Creek Systems, LLC, a Vermont-based consulting firm founded in 1982, providing information privacy and security regulatory compliance services to a wide variety of health care entities.

Price: $139.00

Contact Info:
Netzealous -MentorHealth
Phone No: 1-800-385-1607
Fax: 302-288-6884
Email: support@mentorhealth.com
Website: http://www.mentorhealth.com/