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| Employee Handbook |
| Pending HIPAA Privacy Rule: Is your company poised to react? |
Do you need another project to keep your company’s technology “task force” occupied? Kathleen Schwappach, a partner in the Chicago office of the Seyfarth Shaw law firm, is suggesting that one option might be for your risk management specialists to keep an eye on pending changes to HIPPA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
The new rule, as it is currently drafted, requires that entities who process health information obtain written authorization from patients before using “protected health information” for anything besides treatment, payment or health care operations.”
The concern is that the current ruling makes handling of health-related documents, (even for simple record-keeping functions like managing reimbursements) subject to the provisions and penalties of the law. Other concerns include the assertion by a national physicians association that the rule requires physicians to allow government access to personal medical records without a warrant.
The rule is still up for public debate, but if and when it is signed into law, employers, particularly those who are self-insured, will need to be ready to act quickly to bring themselves into compliance. Fines for non-compliance range from $50,000 to $250,000, and prison sentences of up to 10 years can be imposed.
Schwappach recommends that employers "track this stuff and be as prepared as possible-keeping costs in mind-to react when it becomes clarified."
(Source: Robert W. Thompson. “Groups Seek to Scuttle Landmark HIPAA Privacy Rule.” HR News Online).
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