March 17, 2006

FYI poster addresses patient confidentiality

The latest in a series of FYI posters is being distributed throughout the hospital this week and focuses on the important subject of patient confidentiality. The poster series is meant to help MGHers prepare for the upcoming unannounced survey by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).

The "Talk Can Hurt" posters are a way of communicating to MGHers that patient
confidentiality is not only a responsibility of all employees and staff, but also is the law under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a comprehensive federal law that gives patients the right to restrict certain uses of their medical information and provides more privacy protection.

For more information about the FYI campaign, call Public Affairs at (617) 724-6433. For more information about patient confidentiality, call Health Information Services at (617) 726-2465.