Eagle Associates, Inc.
compliance services since 1988
Disclosure of PHI with Visitors
What should you do when a patient has a visitor or person who is accompanying them to their appointment and that person comes into the treatment area with the patient? The following information will help provide guidelines based upon recent reviews of such incidents by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
An acceptable process is to conclude that if the patient makes no objection, you can disclose information with the other person being present. This is based on information from the Privacy Rule (§164.510(B)(2)(ii) where it allows such reasonable judgment. However, it may be in the best interest of your practice to adopt the following procedure that is based upon recent information provided by OCR in their review of patient complaints.
Reommended Process - The following solution is one option to provide the documentation that a patient did not have any objection. When you bring a patient to the treatment area and they have another person accompanying them, simply ask them if they have any objection to that other person being present during the appointment. If the patient objects, you can have the visitor remain in the reception area.
If the patient indicates they have no objection, simply note in the chart “NVO” for “no visitor objection". Establish a written procedure for this process that identifies all patients with visitors will be asked if they have any objections to the other person’s presence. And, that upon no objection you will enter a note such as “NVO” (you can establish your own code or notation) to document that the patient agreed or objected. The key is to have a standardized process so that all patients are treated in the same manner.
Read the complete article in the May 2008 issue of the Advisor.
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