ShelleyM
Networker
Can someone tell me if we do not have the patient's signature on the HIPAA form, are we able to go ahead and bill his insurance? He did give us his insurance information, we just neglected to get his signature on some forms.
I disagree, the HIPAA regulations state that the patient's authorization is not required for "treatment, payment or healthcare operations". If the patient has provided you with his insurance information you can make the judgement that he wishes you to bill his insurance. Also, when patients sign their insurance applications they are giving permission for the insurance company to obtain information necessary for the payment of claims. What you have to be carefule of in these situations is that you disclose the minimum necessary information, and you are still required to provide the patient with a copy of your Privacy practices. In other words you only disclose information pertinent to this particular claim, not the patient's whole medical history.
The link mentioned above pertains to providing patients with the Notice of Privacy Practices and how information may be disclosed.
Doreen Clark, CPC