Section 164.510(b) of the Privacy Rule describes three ways that a provider can determine
whether the patient agrees or objects to a disclosure, including:
- Obtaining the individual’s agreement to the disclosure
- Providing the individual with a specific opportunity to object to the disclosure, and the
individual does not express an objection to the disclosure
3.Reasonably inferring from the circumstances, based on the exercise of professional
judgment, that the individual does not object to the disclosure
Part 1: Assume you are a hospital compliance officer and have been tasked with creating
privacy and security policies and procedures for your organization. In crafting your policies and
procedures, how would you structure your institution’s approach and why? Many disclosures of
PHI are permitted based on the relationship of the person seeking information to the patient.
What techniques should your hospital adopt through its policies for verifying the identity of an
individual to whom information about the patient could be disclosed or to verify the individual’s
relationship to the patient? Would you adopt a single approach, or would your policy vary, for
instance, based on the circumstances? Please write up a brief response (2–3 pages max, double
spaced) addressing these questions. Note that you do not have to create actual policies and
procedures in crafting your response to these questions.
Part 2: How would your policy apply in each of the cases below (e.g., are there certain people or
categories of individuals with whom information regarding the condition and treatment of the
patient would always, sometimes, or never be shared)? Please give support for your conclusions. - A school bus has overturned, and 30 elementary school children are rushed to your
hospital. Some are in serious condition, some are dead when they arrive at the hospital, and
some have merely cut and bruises and will be released shortly. As the person the hospital
has designated the contact person regarding patients involved in this terrible accident,
from whom would you likely receive requests for information about these children and
their condition? To whom would you disclose PHI and to whom would you not disclose
PHI? Why?
Choose: - Obtaining the individual’s agreement to the disclosure
- Providing the individual with a specific opportunity to object to the disclosure, and the
individual does not express an objection to the disclosure
3.Reasonably inferring from the circumstances, based on the exercise of professional
judgment, that the individual does not object to the disclosure
