HIPAA & Patient Privacy

Can You Store Protected Health Information on iCloud?  No.   The information stored on a cloud provider must be transported to and stored securely. How secure? Reasonably secure. iCloud likely meets that test.  In addition, there must be a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) in place before Protected Health Information PHI is transferred between organizations. This … Read more

If a patient asks for their records, according to HIPAA, what records must you provide? According to HIPAA you need to send the patient their medical (dental) records. And within 30 days in the format they want. Some states, such as California, have an accelerated timeline of 15 days.   OK, so, what are “patient records?” … Read more

This question hit my desk. I’ve received some version of this same question over and over.   A plastic surgeon performed aesthetic surgery on a patient. Objectively the results look good. Subjectively, the patient disagrees.   Sound familiar?  There’s a conflict. The patient takes the conflict online. She posts photos which are a few days post-op. They … Read more

Physicians take all sorts of photographs. Some are part and parcel of a surgeon’s practice. Before and after photos of cosmetic surgery. For example. No surprises there.   Patients of Lehigh Valley Health Network were surprised that hackers obtained photos of their naked bodies while undergoing radiation treatment.   Hackers breached the network.   A Lehigh Valley Health … Read more

Generally, a patient needs to sign a HIPAA authorization form to disclose their protected health information. Unless there’s an exception. Such as addressing Treatment, Payment, or Operations (“TPO”). No written authorization is needed for such exceptions – for example, to disclose limited protected health information to resolve a financial dispute (say, a credit card chargeback … Read more

When the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was first established in 1996, it lacked the stringent penalties we see today. But in recent years, the enforcement landscape has transformed significantly. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) conducts random audits, and multi-million dollar fines are now common. This means that no practice is immune … Read more

I hear from so many physicians about how much they love documenting in the medical record. In fact, if they could do it every waking hour, they would. Just kidding. Today, patients have easy access to their medical records and test results. What happens when they disagree with what you wrote? Do you have to … Read more

Medical Justice provides consultations to doctors facing medico-legal obstacles. We have solutions for doctor-patient conflicts, unwarranted demands for refunds, online defamation (patient review mischief), meritless litigation, and a gazillion other issues. If you are navigating a medico-legal obstacle, visit our booking page to schedule a consultation – or use the tool shared below. We receive all … Read more