HIPAA Compliance

How will HIPAA potentially impact FMLA Certification?

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a United States federal law requiring larger employers to provide employees job-protected unpaid leave due to a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his or her job, or to care for a sick family member, or to care for a new child (including by birth, adoption or foster care). The FMLA is administered by the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration of the United States Department of Labor.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons. These medical reasons include the “serious health condition” of an employee’s spouse, child, or parent, or the “serious health condition” of the employee that prevents him/her from performing the essential functions of their job.

In order to assess whether a covered individual has a “serious health condition”, an employer can require sufficient medical information to support an employee’s request for FML. However, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) generally restricts a healthcare provider from divulging protected health information (“PHI”) of their patients to third-parties, including employers. This article provides tips for maneuvering through the potential conflicts between these two statutes.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) prescribes FMLA certification forms to verify the existence of a “serious health condition”. To be sufficient, a medical certification should state the following: the date the condition commenced; the probable duration of the condition; appropriate medical facts regarding the condition; a statement that the employee is needed to care for a covered family member or a statement that the employee is unable to perform the essential functions of his or her position; dates and duration of any planned treatment; a statement of the medical necessity for intermittent leave or leave on a reduced schedule; and expected duration of such leave.

Common mistakes which should be avoided by employers

One of the most common mistakes that employers make is failing to update the notice of privacy practices and/or send the three-year reminder. As per HIPAA, the notice must be amended when a material revision is made to its privacy practices and this updated notice must be sent to participants within 60 days. Health and … Continue reading

Millions of Americans losing health insurance due to cost issues

More than 59 million Americans had no health insurance for at least part of 2010, an increase of 4 million from the previous year, as per the reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported Tuesday. A far greater number of Americans are forgoing needed medical care because of costs. “Both adults and kids … Continue reading

Knowing what the Privacy Standards provide for

The primary objective of the Privacy Rule is to protect the privacy of all individually identifiable health information in the hands of covered entities, regardless of whether the information is or has been in electronic form. As such, HIPAA establishes the first “set of basic national privacy standards and fair information practices that provides all … Continue reading

Why is ROI outsourcing industry vital for hospitals’ HIM?

A hospital’s health information management department is responsible for releasing health records per request. This process has a number of complications involved and HIM departments are facing immense amounts of pressures, ranging from the HIPAA Security Rule, which establishes national standards to protect individuals’ electronic personal health information, to government mandated audits, such as the … Continue reading

URAC awards HIPAA Security & Privacy Covered Entity accreditations to Share Health

Shared Health, Inc has been awarded the HIPAA Security and Privacy Covered Entity accreditations from URAC which is a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry. Shared Health demonstrated the highest standards in health information technology (HIT), including implementation of a comprehensive security compliance plan, rigorous management … Continue reading

Hyland acquires CSC Group to expand its hold in healthcare sector

Hyland has acquired Computer Systems Company (CSC) Group for an undisclosed sum. CSC deals in areas like clinical healthcare systems with ultrasound imaging and reporting, and revenue cycle management solutions. After the deal, Hyland customers will be better able to convert their paper-based documents into digital assets that can be made accessible to organizations’ clinical, … Continue reading

People want more control on their PHI: Reveals Dr. Peel’s survey

The privacy advocate Dr Deborah Peel’s Patient Privacy Rights Foundation and Zogby International has conducted a new survey which has revealed that a whopping 97% of the 2,000 adults who took part in the survey admitted that they wanted the right to control their own personal medical information and be allowed to limit with whom … Continue reading

What to do when you face a HIPAA violation?

HIPAA violation can be anything including the publication of any medical records, such as on the Internet, unauthorized access to medical records by employees or outside personnel, unauthorized release of medical information to a patient’s employer or the sale of an individual’s medical records. If you feel that your privacy under HIPAA has been violated, … Continue reading

Knowing about how Privacy Rule applies to the Business Associates

By law, the Privacy Rule applies only to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and certain health care providers. In today’s health care system, however, most health care providers and health plans do not carry out all of their health care activities and functions by themselves; they require assistance from a variety of contractors and other … Continue reading