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Pathology/Lab Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

Grasp HIPAA Family History Rules

Published on Thu Oct 12, 2023

Question: When our pathologist receives a tissue specimen, the ordering physician sometimes includes information about the patient’s family medical history. Is that information protected by HIPAA? Is it ok for the surgeon to share that information with the pathologist? AAPC Subscriber Answer: Yes, a patient’s family medical history constitutes protected health information (PHI). The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) [...]
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