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IMGMA Q/A: Service Animals
/in ADAby Rob Low
Republished with permission from Idaho Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). Original article appeared in Idaho MGMA’s April 2018 e-newsletter.
Question: What are “Service Animals”, and to what extent (i) must they be allowed on health care facility premises, and (ii) can they be refused or removed from premises?
Answer: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), “Service Animals” are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. This means the dog must be trained to take a specific action when needed to assist the person with a disability (e.g., a dog which is trained to guide a blind person, alert a deaf person, pull a wheelchair, alert a person with diabetes that his or her blood sugar is too high or too low). The ADA also recognizes that, in some instances, a person with a disability may use a miniature horse that has been trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities as a service animal. Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. However, the ADA does not require service animals to wear a vest, ID tag, or specific harness. Read more
Minimizing Liability For Business Associate Misconduct
/in HIPAABy Kim Stanger
Republished with permission from AHLA’s Physicians and Hospitals Law Institute. Original article appeared Feb. 5, 2018.
Healthcare providers, health plans and healthcare clearinghouses (“covered entities”) and business associates are subject to significant penalties for violations of the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules. To make matters worse, covered entities may be liable for their business associates’ misconduct, and business associates may be liable for their subcontractors’ violations. Covered entities and business associates must take appropriate steps to minimize exposure for their business associates’ or subcontractors’ violations. Read more
Mandatory Flu Vaccines Land Healthcare Facility In Court
/in Employee BenefitsBy Bradley Cave
After rescinding a job offer to an applicant, a Michigan healthcare provider finds itself in federal court defending a religious accommodation claim. If your organization requires employees to get flu vaccines, your policy should address how to handle religious objections. Here are details from the complaint that resulted in this recent discrimination lawsuit and steps you should take when facing similar circumstances.
Prospective Employee Suggests Reasonable Accommodation to Flu Shot
According to the complaint filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Yvonne Bair applied for a medical transcriptionist position in early 2016 with Memorial Healthcare, a non-profit corporation located in Owosso, Michigan. The transcription position would involve working from home, but also required two months of training at Memorial Healthcare’s hospital in Owosso at the start of employment. Read more
Producing Patient Records: The “Designated Record Set,” the “Legal Health Record,” and Records Created by Other Providers
/in HIPAAHealthcare providers often misunderstand their obligation to provide patient records in response to a request from a patient or third party.
1. Patient Requests and the “Designated Record Set.” With very limited exceptions,[1] patients and their personal representatives generally have a right to access and/or require the disclosure of protected health information in the patient’s designated record set. (45 CFR § 164.524(a)). HIPAA defines “designated record set” as:
A group of records maintained by or for a covered entity that is:
(i) The medical records and billing records about individuals maintained by or for a covered health care provider; [or]
(iii) Used, in whole or in part, by or for the covered entity to make decisions about individuals.
(45 CFR § 164.501). As the OCR recently summarized:
The Privacy Rule generally requires HIPAA covered entities (health plans and most health care providers) to provide individuals, upon request, with access to the protected health information (PHI) about them in one or more “designated record sets” maintained by or for the covered entity. This includes the right to inspect or obtain a copy, or both, of the PHI, as well as to direct the covered entity to transmit a copy to a designated person or entity of the individual’s choice. Individuals have a right to access this PHI for as long as the information is maintained by a covered entity, or by a business associate on behalf of a covered entity, regardless of the date the information was created; whether the information is maintained in paper or electronic systems onsite, remotely, or is archived; or where the PHI originated (e.g., whether the covered entity, another provider, the patient, etc.).
Read more
IMGMA Q/A: Producing Records
/in GovernanceBy Kim Stanger
Ed. note: This article also appears in an issue of the Idaho MGMA monthly newsletter.
Question: What is the difference between a “designated record set” and “legal health record,” and what must we provide when we receive a request for “records”?
Answer: HIPAA defines “designated record set” as:
A group of records maintained by or for a covered entity that is:
(i) The medical records and billing records about individuals maintained by or for a covered health care provider; [or]
(iii) Used, in whole or in part, by or for the covered entity to make decisions about individuals.
(45 CFR 164.501). With very limited exceptions, patients and their personal representatives generally have a right to access protected health information in their designated record set. (45 CFR 164.524). As the OCR recently summarized: Read more