Safety and Setting Group Boundaries
HIPAA and Privacy: What You Need to Know as a Peer Support Volunteer
What is HIPAA?
As part of providing the highest quality service to those who attend our support group meetings, we keep information about their health private. HIPAA covers ALL forms of protected health information: oral, written, and electronic. We are legally obligated to keep this commitment.
How am I involved in HIPAA?
It is everyone's responsibility to take the confidentiality of participant information seriously. Anytime a peer support volunteer comes in contact with patient information (or any personal health information) written, spoken, or electronically transmitted, they become involved in some facet of HIPAA regulations.
What is Protected Health Information (PHI)?
According to HIPAA, any one of the following information can be used to identify a patient:
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Name
Telephone/fax numbers
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Addresses
Email addresses
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Treatments and medications received
Information about past health conditions
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Dates
Social Security Numbers
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Medical records numbers
Patient account numbers
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Insurance plan numbers
Vehicle information
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License numbers
Medical equipment numbers
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Photographs
Fingerprints
Any health information that identifies someone or can IS PROTECTED. This means you cannot pass along any of this information without patient authorization.
For example, you cannot discuss any patient information with your coworkers, family, and friends. Remember, mentioning any one of the above information points is a possible HIPAA violation.
24 | ZERO Prostate Cancer
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