Author: AHIMA Staff

Source: AHIMA Q and A

Publication Date: March 02, 2002

Q: We have a transcriptionist who picks up tapes, transcribes them off-site, and returns them each day. Is this practice legal under HIPAA?


A: The HIPAA privacy rule does not prohibit the use of tapes for dictation, nor the use of an outside transcription vendor. The privacy rule do....

Author: AHIMA Staff

Source: AHIMA Q and A

Publication Date: March 02, 2002

Q: Does the individual to whom a patient has granted durable power of attorney for financial matters have the right to access and authorize use or disclosure of the patient’s protected health information (PHI) under HIPAA?


A: An individual granted durable power of attorney for....

Author: AHIMA Professional Practice Team

Source: AHIMA Q and A

Publication Date: November 02, 2004

Q: As a covered entity, do I need to have satisfactory assurance (as required by HIPAA) that an individual has been notified when I am served with a search warrant for a patient's protected health information (PHI)?
A: No. A search warrant is issued by a judge and is considered the same a....

Author: AHIMA Professional Practice Team

Source: AHIMA Q and A

Publication Date: January 02, 2003

Q: When is it legal to disclose protected health information (PHI) to clergy?


A: If the individual is informed in advance of the possible disclosure and has the opportunity to object, the HIPAA privacy rule allows a covered entity to disclose directory information to clergy. Directo....

Author: AHIMA Professional Practice Team

Source: AHIMA Q and A

Publication Date: January 02, 2003

Q: Is faxing patient information legal under HIPAA?
A: If the covered entity is permitted to release the information (for treatment purposes or by authorization, for example), then using a fax machine is allowed. The privacy rule requires the entity to provide appropriate administrative, techn....

Author: AHIMA Professional Practice Team

Source: AHIMA Q and A

Publication Date: January 02, 2003

Q: Does HIPAA allow clinicians in our home health facility to pull their own records?
A: Your facility must make a reasonable effort to limit the access of your clinicians to the PHI they need to perform their duties. You will have to determine what policies are reasonable. As employees, the c....

Author: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; U.S. Department of Education

Source: Government (U.S.)

Publication Date: November 27, 2008

Author: AHIMA Privacy and Security Practice Council

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: September 2006

Job shadowing is a popular method of providing a work-based learning experience. It allows an individual to follow or “shadow” a healthcare professional during a typical workday. The participant can observe the healthcare professional’s job duties, ask questions, and eval....

Author: Dougherty, Michelle

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: November 2002

You've attended seminars, read articles, outlined systems, and developed forms for implementing the privacy rule, but there is still one step left--actually writing the policies and procedures. For many practitioners, policies and procedures are important but are often put off, then forgotten.....

Author: Lee, Michael R.

Source: Journal of AHIMA

Publication Date: April 2003

In the event of a privacy-related legal challenge, the content of your organization’s notice of privacy practices (NPP) will be a focal point for both plaintiff and defense arguments with respect to the protected health information (PHI) disclosure activities of your organization. Is your....