Some are going overboard with HIPAA:
Many organizations have erred on the side of overcompliance, adding unnecessary red tape, confusing their patients and needlessly impeding the flow of information. One group uses six different HIPAA authorization forms for different circumstances. Some have even purchased restaurant-style beepers to notify waiting patients, instead of calling out their names.
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- Patient blogs: A HIPAA nightmare?
- HIPAA madness
- Useless HIPAA
- HIPAA is impeding research this time
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{ 3 comments }
Actually, the beeper idea appeals to me – but more as a matter of streamlining the process. Waiting rooms are surprisingly noisy, and staff often have trouble pronouncing names, so why not sidestep the whole “waiting to see if anyone else gets up” routine?
Much of the overcompliance is due to simple ignorance about what HIPAA requires. Some whose practice is not even covered by HIPAA do not even know that. Seminars are given by those who either haven’t read the rule or are too mental lightwieght to understand the vocabulary and syntax.
anon at 1:20 PM,
Isn’t that more of a slam against HIPAA than against the doctors, nurses and staff? If the law requires a nuanced understanding of vocabulary and syntax, then the law itself is bad.
Do you expect a jury to be full of mental juggernauts that will understand what the law?
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