Wiki HIPPA, Red Flags

[TiffanyParks]

Has anyone every had a patient refuse to sign the HIPPA form? If so what does this mean? Can we bill the patients insurance? Can we send information back to the referring physician?

Also with all these "RED FLAGS" regarding indentiy theft, have you had anyone refuse to give their drivers license? We need it to verify they are truely the patient but some patients are refusing to allow use to view it.

Any insite is helpful!

 

[LLovett]

Do you have a compliance officer? These issues should be addressed in internal policies, if they are not it is time to get the ball rolling on getting those set up and in place.

Most people are so used to signing their lives away they don't even question anymore but some people do. We are all so scared to give out personal information and sign anything (and rightly so) that I am actually shocked when I see people signing things without asking what it is and why. Generally education is all it takes to get them to comply. Be sure the people asking for this information understand why they need it and can explain this to the patients in a way they can understand. Be sure they are asking for the right information. I had an office refuse to see my daughter without a copy of my divorce decree. They told me they were legally required to have it before they could treat her. Guess what, that is completely incorrect.

Where I worked before had a policy that if the patient refused to sign the HIPPA paper the employee and a witness would sign and note the patients refusal and that they were given the information.

There was also a policy that if they did not show ID they could/would cancel the appointment.

I am no longer involved much with front desk opperations so I can't say if that happens where I am now or how it is handled.

I have been reading about the red flags and this is something on my to do list, address these issues with the practice managers to make sure we are compliant.

Just my experience,

Laura, CPC, CEMC