Understand data breach security laws and safeguarding confidential records.
This presentation will look at the pitfalls associated with lost, stolen, altered, or damaged medical records. We will start by looking at HIPAA and state physician-patient privacy laws to establish baseline expectations for providers and record custodians. We will discuss best practices for retention as well as what to do when a breach occurs. We will discuss reporting requirements under the HIPAA framework and look at case studies to illustrate what may happen if a provider is found to have breached HIPAA. We will also look at how courts and legislatures handle the issue of lost, stolen, altered, or damaged medical records in the context of legal claims. We will discuss different approaches across the United States to the retention of medical records and different evidentiary standards regarding the spoliation of records in negligence suits. We will discuss strategies to minimize liability exposure and present case studies of when things go wrong.Learning Objectives
- You will be able to examine the relationship between HIPAA and state privacy laws to understand their influence on patient information management and privacy practices.
- You will be able to evaluate the ethical considerations associated with the physician-patient privilege in healthcare settings.
- You will be able to identify effective best practices for maintaining HIPAA compliance, including data encryption, secure data storage, and comprehensive employee training.
- You will be able to understand the implications of the private right of action under HIPAA and its impact on healthcare providers and individuals in the event of privacy breaches.
Agenda
HIPAA
- Exploring the Statute
- Interaction With State Privacy Laws
- The Physician-Patient Privilege
- Best Practices Under HIPAA
- You Have a Breach, What Now?
- Reporting Requirements
- Timing
- Form
- Private Right of Action?
- Case Studies
Records Retention and Spoliation of Evidence
- State Records Retention Laws
- Time Limitations
- Allowable Exceptions
- Records Retention and Production
- EMR
- Audit Trails
- Pitfalls of Production
- Spoliation of Evidence - Legal Standards
- What Happens When Records Are Lost or Stolen
- What Happens When Records Are Altered
- What Happens When Records Are Damaged
- Case Studies
- Best Approaches
Questions
Speakers
Stuart Berman,
Lowis & Gellen LLP- Partner at Lowis & Gellen LLP in Chicago
- Practice focuses on medical malpractice, long term care defense, and the formation of captive insurance companies; he defends hospitals, medical centers, nursing homes, physician groups, individual physicians and nurses in medical malpractice and long term care negligence cases
- Has particular expertise in cases involving complex and catastrophic losses, products liability and compliance issues
- Consults and advises hospitals and other health care facilities on restructuring risk management processes and compliance issues
- National supervising counsel for two national insurance collectives and is vice-president of captive “incubator” Midwest Consultants, where he works with pending and existing projects, assisting doctors and hospitals in forming captive insurance companies, risk retention groups (RRGs), and risk purchasing groups (RPGs)
- In addition to his practice as a lawyer, he frequently speaks to medical and legal professionals regarding topics related to health care litigation; he has written or co-written multiple publications and has written, edited, presented and/or co-presented multiple lectures covering a range of topics in medical malpractice
- Graduate, Chicago-Kent College of Law; undergraduate, Bates College in Lewiston, Maine
Who Should Attend
This live webinar is designed for medical records directors, health information directors, business managers, office managers, nurses, hospital administrators, compliance directors, and release of records professionals.
