Some hospital IT departments see themselves as "the HIPAA police" and clamp down in ways that HIPAA doesn’t require, says Abraham Gutman, CEO of AG Mednet, a Boston-based company that assists providers with communication of clinical trial data. The problem can occur in many healthcare settings, but the IT department is a common source. Now a new worry is emerging as some providers take HIPAA compliance too far and threaten patient care.Ī recent report from the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank in Washington, DC, raised the alarm that HIPAA is too far-reaching and "often misunderstood, misapplied and over-applied in ways that may inhibit information sharing unnecessarily." (See the story on p. Healthcare providers have spent years grappling with how to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), with most of the focus on training clinicians and staff about the dangers of too freely providing protected health information (PHI). Providers should ensure that staff understand that erring too much on the side of caution can have negative effects.The IT department often can be overly cautious with compliance.Excessive caution with HIPAA can happen institution-wide or just with individuals. Refusing to provide needed information can threaten patient safety. Healthcare providers can go overboard with efforts to comply with HIPAA, hindering the necessary transfer of patient information.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |