Who knows the HIPAA Law?

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

Does anyone know if this is a violation of the HIPAA Law. Can a receptionist in a doctor's office now say what medical insurance you currently have out loud, loud enough for someone else in the office to hear? I would think so, but I would like to hear from someone who would defilnately know. All of my doctor's now ask if anything has changed, or will show me a print out of information and will ask me to verify if my insurance is correct. Today, I had a receptionist ask me out loud if I still have ____ insurance. I do not feel that anyone else in that waiting room needs to know that I have ____ insurance. Did she violate the HIPAA Law?

[Dave M Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dave M]

That's not a violation. If the receptionist had said something like, "Your insurer has rejected a claim for the last treatment we provided to you", that might have been a violation.

In other words, disclosure of the name of your insurance carrier is not a violation. Disclosure of information in your insurance company's records or that the insurance company has provided to your provider about your treatment is a violation.

Asking out loud about your insurance carrier is akin to asking if you still live at 1234 Main Street, which is also not a violation.

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

Dave is correct.

The office should have a sign which informs those checking in to stand behind a set line while waiting their turn to speak to the receptionist, e.g., "Please stand behind the white line until you are called".

You might want to call the office manager and suggest that they need to find a better way. It's a minor breach of information (akin to calling out your name) however, not a violation of HIPAA as I see it. This is not divulging medical condition information.

If the receptionist had said, "Ann-Marie, how's that bout of ________ you had ? Is is all cleared up?", now THAT would be huge.

I am not a fan of HIPAA. www.hipaadvisory.com/action/legalqa/hipaalaw.htm
Beags, (R.N., M.S.N., A.N.P. & 2nd year law medical/biotech law student).

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Your insurance carrier is not considered Protected Health Information under HIPAA...

but violations abound, it is very difficult to comply in an office environment. I was mortified at the orthodontist's office to see photos of the kids all over the walls (though this is typical), not to mention the 'open pit' treatment facility, in which 4 kids are getting treated at the same time... when I reacted, I was instantly offered a private room for DS, who got mad at me for saying anything...