Podiatry Coding & Billing Alert

HHS proposes giving patients access to a list of providers who accessed their records.If you've ever been tempted to access a patient's PHI for nonmedically necessary reasons, you now have a more official reason not to give in to that temptation.A new HHS proposal, published in the May 31 Federal Register, will offer patients a way to combat the growing concern of medical records privacy, by allowing them an "access report" -- which lists the specific people who electronically viewed their protected health information (PHI).The HIPAA Security Rule already requires covered entities to track access to patients' electronic PHI, but does not currently require them to share that information with the patients. However, the proposal suggests offering the patients an annual listing of the records. It would include every instance of access to the patient's PHI--including legitimate reviews for reasons of treatment and payment -- as well as other instances. It won't, [...]