New HHS breach notification rules that recently went into effect are raising serious concerns among healthcare compliance and human resources professionals over how to effectively manage employees to assure adequate protection of patient records.

A key point: the breach notification rules cover employee snooping as well as lost laptops and computer hacking.

Earlier, this year, the State of California slapped Kaiser Permanente with hundreds of thousands in fines for failing to prevent employees from accessing a celebrity’s medical file even though Kaiser Permanente had controls in place.

In July, a U.S. Attorney in Arkansas obtained criminal guilty pleas under HIPAA from a doctor and several hospital employees for snooping into a local celebrity’s medical records.

These events are putting enormous pressure on healthcare compliance and HR professionals to develop and enforce effective policies and procedures that balance the need for patient privacy with employee rights and the need for mission critical access to health records.

This means that healthcare organizations and their business associates face substantial mitigation costs and large penalties for failing to take breach notification requirements seriously.

To help healthcare compliance and HR professionals navigate in this perilous area, Melamedia, LLC, publishers of Health Information Privacy/Security Alert, is sponsoring a 90-minute audio seminar:

The New Patient Privacy Challenge: Where Breach Notification, HIPAA and HR Meet.

Participants will be briefed on:

• What Constitutes Snooping In The Context Of The Federal Breach Rules;
• Types Of Records Involved In Snooping;
• Important Issues To Consider Before Considering Heightened Employee Surveillance;
• Best Practices For Monitoring Employee Access To Patient Records;
• Key HR Policies To Review To Ensure Appropriate Access To Records While Complying With Breach Notification Programs;
• The Renewed Importance Of Clear, Concise And Consistent HR Policies;
• Why Breach Notification Rules Provide Real Teeth For HIPAA Requirements; and
  much more

WHO SHOULD LISTEN

• Privacy & Security Officers
• HR Professionals
• HIM Professionals
• HIT Professionals
• Healthcare Providers
• Hospitals
• Health Insurers

• Healthcare Administrators
• Research Administrators
• Third Party Administrators
• Business Associates
• Healthcare Attorneys And Consultants
• Employment Attorneys and Consultants
• State And Local Health Department Compliance Officials

THE FACULTY

Gerald “Jud” DeLoss is chairman of the American Health Lawyers Association’s Health Information & Technology Practice Group and of counsel with the law firm of Krieg DeVault, where his practice focuses on representing medical providers in Health Information Technology (HIT), HIPAA, medical staff credentialing, fraud and abuse, transactions, and regulatory compliance

Linda J. Cooley is a partner with the law firm of Krieg DeVault, where her practice focuses on employment law and mental health law. Her experience in employment law includes litigating cases in federal and state courts, defending clients before equal employment opportunity agencies, and advising companies on developing personnel policies and handbooks, terminating employees, and the Family and Medical Leave Act

 

Dennis Melamed, editor and publisher of Health Information Privacy/Security Alert, has 30 years of experience writing about business and regulatory affairs in Washington, DC. Dennis is an adjunct professor at the Drexel College of Medicine and the chief editor and lead author of the three-volume HIPAA Handbook reference set. He is a frequent lecturer and columnist on health information confidentiality and security issues.

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS

• All seminar participants will receive a certificate of participation
• 1.5 IAPP Credits

ORDERING INFORMATION

The CD recording with all course materials are excellent educational and briefing resources for use at your convenience: $289

 download the order form at www.melamedia.com/11.12.09.Order.Form.pdf
and fax it to 703.619.4912

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