OK, now I think I'm going to change my mind. I found the following on the HHS website, and am thinking it may pertain to peds accessing a new mother's chart to care for her baby...
Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule permit doctors, nurses, and other health care providers to share patient health information for treatment purposes without the patient's authorization?
Answer:
Yes. The Privacy Rule allows those doctors, nurses, hospitals, laboratory technicians, and other health care providers that are covered entities to use or disclose protected health information, such as X-rays, laboratory and pathology reports, diagnoses, and other medical information for treatment purposes without the patient's authorization. This includes sharing the information to consult with other providers, including providers who are not covered entities, to treat a different patient, or to refer the patient.
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Cinda Kropka MHA
Compliance/Ethics & Privacy Officer
Avita Health System
Galion,OH
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-23-2014 09:29 AM
From: Nancy O'Neill
Subject: Pediatricians Accessing Moms' Charts
Cindy,
I would suggest that it seems reasonable for a pediatrician to access the mom's record to care for the newborn in order to obtain pregnancy, delivery, and other pertinent information to care for the baby. I think it might be an undue burden to require the physicians to obtain an auth... Just my thoughts. It is also not unusual for nursing staff taking care of a newborn to refer to the mother's record for the same reasons.
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Nancy O'Neill, RN, MBA, CHC
Manager, Corporate Compliance/Privacy Officer
Bayfront Health System
St. Petersburg , Florida
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-23-2014 07:46 AM
From: Cinda Kropka
Subject: Pediatricians Accessing Moms' Charts
Thank you for the feedback. I think I'll say that moms need to sign a release so that the peds can access their charts for the minimum necessary information they need to do their jobs!
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Cinda Kropka MHA
Compliance/Ethics & Privacy Officer
Avita Health System
Galion,OH
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-22-2014 02:58 PM
From: Charlotte Nafziger
Subject: Pediatricians Accessing Moms' Charts
This seems a little sticky. One could argue that the access is for treatment purposes. However, if the Drs. want to be prudent about it, have mom sign a release of her records to the Drs.
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Charlotte Nafziger
Director of Compliance
The T-System
Dallas,TX
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-21-2014 09:49 AM
From: Cinda Kropka
Subject: Pediatricians Accessing Moms' Charts
This message has been cross posted to the following eGroups: Privacy Officer's Roundtable and HIPAA .
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Our OB Nurse Manager has posed the following: "The Pediatricians insist that they cannot access mothers' charts to obtain birth information, e.g. infection status, etc. because "it is a HIPAA violation". Is that the case? The Pediatricians are caring for the baby so the mother's health concerns affect the baby."
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Cinda Kropka MHA
Compliance/Ethics & Privacy Officer
Avita Health System
Galion,OH
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