HIPAA violation (regarding patients phone number)

[tsellers]

If an office assistant at a doctor's clinic secures a patients phone number from the patients records to contact the patient for personal reasons, is this a HIPAA violations?

[AFFA]

I wish to inform you that HIPAA violations may not cover your situation. Generally HIPAA covers disclosure of medical information to persons. At present hospital employees had contacted you but had not disclosed your personal information to anybody. HIPAA violations does not cover communication to the individual himself. Therefore your situation may not be covered by HIPAA violations.

AFF

I was fired for taking a patients phone number from his file for personal use. Is that violating the Hipaa law?

[Friend In Court]

Originally Posted by tsellers If an office assistant at a doctor's clinic secures a patients phone number from the patients records to contact the patient for personal reasons, is this a HIPAA violations?

The patient records privacy act covers disclosure of medical information, not an office assistant making a phone call for personal reasons. This person's conduct might be considered a breach of ethics by their employer, attempting to strike up a personal relationship with a patient, but without disclosure of the patient's medical history or records to a third party it does not violate the federal patient privacy act.

[Friend In Court]

Originally Posted by Unregistered I was fired for taking a patients phone number from his file for personal use. Is that violating the Hipaa law?

No, it is a violation of ethics, the employer physician's rules and code.

Originally Posted by Unregistered I was fired for taking a patients phone number from his file for personal use. Is that violating the Hipaa law?

I to was fired and was told it was Hipaa violation is this true? Plus a sent sympathy cards to the customers I had a close bond with.

[Disagreeable]

Originally Posted by Unregistered I to was fired and was told it was Hipaa violation is this true? Plus a sent sympathy cards to the customers I had a close bond with.

It sounds like you could have committed a HIPPA violation by using medical info to determine a sympathy card was a possibility.