July 12, 2002 Protecting patient privacy

mgh logo.gif (3422 bytes)

July 12, 2002

Protecting patient privacy

Since the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services enacted regulations last April protecting patients' privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the hospital launched a patient confidentiality awareness campaign to help educate MGHers about the new guidelines. As part of the campaign, news and updates will continue to be published in Hotline. Below is a fictitious example of a breach in patient confidentiality to help MGHers better understand how patient privacy should be protected under the new guidelines.

While stuck in traffic one afternoon, a physician called her secretary on her cell phone to dictate notes about a patient. The doctor then asked her secretary to fax the notes to a colleague involved in the patient's case. In a rush to leave the office, the secretary hastily dialed the fax number and left the office as the patient's notes were being sent. Unfortunately, the secretary dialed the wrong number.

Discussion:
According to Eileen Bryan, MGH project manager for HIPAA, the physician in this example and any other health professional should carefully consider whether it's necessary to discuss a patient case using a cellular phone. Because cell phone calls are transmitted along public airwaves, they can be intercepted. Hospital employees and staff should use discretion even when talking on land-line phones to make sure others don't overhear.

In the secretary's case, she first should have made sure the fax number was correct. Because the information was private, the secretary should have called the recipient to make sure the fax was received. Finally, the secretary should not have left the notes on the fax machine after they were sent. Any passerby could have read the private patient information included in the notes.

For more information about patient confidentiality, call Bryan at (617) 726-6360 or visit the patient confidentiality information display in the Main Corridor July 23 and 25, from 10 am to 2 pm, and Aug. 13 and 15, from 10 am to 2 pm.

Return to the July 12 table of contents