The final Privacy rule took effect on April 14, 2001 and most covered entities have 2 years to comply. On August 9, 2002, The HHS issued its final changes to the HIPAA privacy rule. The HIPAA regulations outline, in detail, patient rights regarding protected health information. It mandates certain safeguards against disclosure of information by providers, billing services and clearinghouses. The regulations apply to health information held or created by the covered entity.

As a provider it is important that you start preparing for implementation. It is a good idea to create a separate form informing your patients about office policies in regards to their medical information. The form should include where their file is stored, who has access to it, the name of your billing service with address and contact information, name of the clearinghouse used and method of transmission of claims. With every additional disclosure, as in transfer of record, referral or consultation there needs to be an additional consent form. There should also be a separate consent form for the patient to sign indicating the use and disclosure of all protected health information. A copy of this must be forwarded to the billing company to be kept with the patient's record. Patients have a right to request restrictions on the use and disclosure of their protected information. It is imperative that every provider work closely with billing personnel on this issue. All entities need to be compliant and noncompliance will put all parties at risk.

We have a wealth of information and sample HIPAA consent forms. Contact us and we will share them with you!!!!!