UPDATE NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES BY SEPT 23 2013

The changes to the Omnibus Rules that are going into effect on Sept 23 2013 require that all medical practices must update their Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) by Sept 23 2013.

 

According to our friends at the American Medical Billing Association (AMBA) there are 5 significant changes that need attention:

 

1) You must update information on your use and disclosure of PHI that requires authorization:

 

a. Most uses and disclosure of psychotherapy notes
b. Uses and disclosures for marketing purposes
c. Disclosures that constitute a sale of PHI

 

2) Separate statements for certain uses and disclosures:

 

a. Intention to send patients treatment communications while receiving remuneration
b. Intention to contact individuals to raise capital or funds
c. Individual’s right to opt out of such communications

 

3) Enhanced patient rights:

 

a. Inclusion that you, as a Covered Entity (CE), must agree to a patient’s restriction of release or disclosure of
PHI to a health plan where the patient pays out of their own pocket for a service

 

b. Include statements about a patient’s right to receive electronic medical records (if you are capable of providing
such), along with other updated patient rights

 

4) Include information about how and when you will inform patients in the event of a breach of unsecured PHI

 

5) Appointment reminders and other alternatives

 

a. You no longer need to include a statement about notifying patients to remind them of an appointment, treatment
alternatives or other services that may be of interest to the patient

 

At Vitruvian MedPro we help medical practices stay out of willful neglect by providing HIPAA Compliance consulting services. As part of our HIPAA Compliance consulting services, we help medical practices perform and document a risk analysis. We provide medical practices with a thorough risk management report describing their risks and vulnerabilities with PHI.

 

A free consultation of 30 minutes or less will let you know whether your practice would be found under willful neglect in the case of an audit.

 

For more information on Vitruvian MedPro’s HIPAA Compliance kit visit: HIPAA Compliance Kit.

 

At Vitruvian MedPro, a Massachusetts based medical billing and practice management consulting company, we help medical practices improve cash flow and focus on patient care by providing medical billing, medical coding, and patient collection services. Visit our web site at Vitruvian MedPro