As publicized throughout 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has taken action to strengthen privacy and security protections for health information established under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Physicians covered by the HIPAA Privacy Rule who have a direct treatment relationship with a patient must disseminate the Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP) as follows:
- Except with respect to emergencies, the physician/office must provide the NPP to the patient no later than the first service delivery date. If treatment is provided under an emergency situation, the NPP must be provided as soon as reasonably practicable after the emergency treatment situation.
- The physician/office must make a good faith effort to obtain a written acknowledgment of receipt of the NPP provided. (Click here for a sample Acknowledgment of Receipt of HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices.) If the acknowledgment is not obtained, the physician/office must document his/her good faith efforts to obtain such acknowledgment and the reason why it was not obtained, except with respect to emergencies. (Click here for a sample Acknowledgment Tracking Information for Refusal to Sign Notice of Privacy Practices.)
- The NPP must be available at the physician's office for patients to request and take with them after acknowledging receipt it was provided.
- The NPP must be posted in a clear and prominent location where it is reasonable to expect individuals seeking treatment from the physician to be able to read. The current NPP must also be posted on physician websites.
- Whenever the NPP is revised, the physician must post and make it available upon request.
Some offices have customized their notices, combining the Acknowledgment of Receipt and Acknowledgment of Refusal of NPP. They have also added privacy information as phone numbers to leave messages with test results or with whom office staff may discuss medical information once persons accompanying the patient to the office visit inquire about the information at a later date.
There is no "one and only acknowledgment form." However, the good faith efforts to obtain a written acknowledgment of receipt and/or refusal must be documented.
Authored by
Jackie Gellis-Server, MHA, RN
Senior Risk Management & Patient Safety Specialist
If you have questions about this article, please contact us. This information should not be considered legal advice applicable to a specific situation. Legal guidance for individual matters should be obtained from a retained attorney.