Dentists...do they need to follow HIPAA laws?

[Erin1700]

While waiting in the dentists examining room with my child, I noticed that by the sink was a list of all the appointments for that day. It was hung on the paper towel dispenser. A regular size sheet of paper, with times listed.

Peoples names and you could tell how long their appointment was supposed to be.

This can't be legal, can it???

 

[npmommie]

The names should not be posted like that for anyone to be able to see.

 

[wvjules]

My dentist has the appointments hanging on a clipboard in the exam rooms too. I never thought twice about it.

 

[legalsea]

Yes, Dentists must follow the HIPAA rules concerning disclosure etc of your medical records.

However, I think that simply a list of names and appointment times does not fall under the HIPAA rules. After all, no medical information is being given out.

For instance, every (and I mean every) doctor I go to has a sign-in sheet. I can clearly see who else has signed in. Hence, while I know that "Agnes Moorehead" signed in at 10 a.m. to see my doctor, I have no idea of what medical treatment, etc., she is undergoing.

 

[npmommie]

from the ama site
re hipaa
To the extent these activities result in other people learning a patient's name or other information, the disclosure would be considered "incidental" to the physician's treatment of the patient, and therefore acceptable under HIPAA.Physicians should take appropriate precautions to limit the amount of information that might be incidentally disclosed in this manner. For example, physicians should not ask patients to list "reason for visit" on a sign-in sheet. With respect to placing charts outside of an examination room or the patient's hospital room while the patient is waiting to see the physician, the physician should take precautions such as turning the front of the chart towards the wall so others do not have the opportunity to read the front page while walking past the room.

 

[Darsa]

However, I think that simply a list of names and appointment times does not fall under the HIPAA rules. After all, no medical information is being given out.

Right; yep, this is what I was told when I was office manager of a therapeutic preschool for Autism/Spectrum kiddos; all of them had appointments with some specialized therapist or other, and they had lists of who and when.

 

[laurie31]

I've never seen a list IN the exam room like that. Our dentist has a sign in sheet, and I guess if I were curious, I could read and see who else was there. However, it doesn't reveal anything at all about the reason for their visit.

My ped is very paranoid about HIPAA, and their sign in sheet is individual sticker strips. After you sign in, they pull your sticker off, so no one else can see any names. At my eye doctor, they black out the names with a Sharpie, so no one can read them. Interesting to find out that this is perhaps overkill. After all, they do call out the names in the waiting room. How else would someone know it was their turn.

 

[blanq]

Although providers are to attempt to minimize incidental disclosures, they are not (necessarily) a violation under HIPAA. A sign in sheet is an example of an incidental disclosure, or a computer screen that lists all of the appointments for the day that could be seen by other patients (as was the exact case at my dental visit today).

 

[LuvLDM]

Just names & appointment times were visible?
I wouldn't even give this a second thought

 

[bebelle]

The list is not a HIPAA violation just like walking into the waiting room and calling out a patient's name is not a violation.....unless you yelled Mr. Mouse come on back for your prostate exam!!!

 

[Buckalew11]

I've seen that at both my old dentist's office and the new one's.

I've even read the names before and felt better knowing they used them, lol.