MGMA, AHIMA: HIPAA's "Accounting of Disclosures" Rule Should Be Withdrawn, Minimized

Health Information Technology
Bob Herman -

More than 90 percent of physician group practices in a recent MGMA study said the Department of Health and Human Services' proposed HIPAA "accounting of disclosures" rule would be very or extremely burdensome to their practice and should be withdrawn, according to an MGMA news release.

MGMA received responses from more than 1,400 participants. HIPAA's accounting of disclosures rule would require medical practices with electronic patient records to be able to produce detailed reports or "disclosures" of every instance a patient's medical information was accessed.

The reports would be required to show all electronic access for up to three years, and participants said patient requests for these types of disclosure reports are very infrequent, the release said. Roughly 65 percent said they have received zero or one request per physician in the past 12 months.

In a letter to HHS, the American Health Information Management Association also commented on the accounting of disclosures rule, saying the requirement could be more minimized to limit organizational expense while still respecting patient rights. Fulfilling such disclosure requests usually isn't a problem, but with such a low amount of requests, the tracking and overall administrative costs would be overbearing, the letter said.

Read the MGMA news release on the HIPAA accounting of disclosures rule.

Related Articles on HIPAA:

Clinician at Connecticut's Hospital of Saint Raphael Texts Photo of Murdered ER Patient
CHIME: HIPAA Privacy Rules Need Reconsideration
Texas Governor Signs Healthcare Privacy Law

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.