which supports loan and scholarship programs throughout Texas. Log on to
www.tmaloanfunds.com for more infor- mation about this and other scholarships available through TMA.
Five inadvertent HIPAA violations by physicians
It is time for even the most resistant doc- tors to pay attention to how they handle protected health information (PHI). The recent final rule of the Health Infor- mation Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act outlines that even if a physician is unaware of a HIPAA violation, he or she could be fined a civil penalty of $100 to $50,000 per violation. Here are five ways physicians are unwittingly breaking HIPAA/HITECH privacy and security rules and how Doc- bookMD can help you avoid trouble.
• Texting PHI to members of your care team. It’s a simple scenario: You’ve just left the office, and your nurse texts you that Ms. Smith is having a reaction to the medication you just prescribed. She has given you Ms. Smith’s name and phone num- ber. You may know texting PHI is not legal but feel justified because it is a serious medical issue. In reality, this text message with PHI has just passed from your nurse’s phone through her phone carrier to your phone carrier, and then to you — four vulnerable points where this unencrypted mes- sage could be either intercepted or breached. All messages sent and re- ceived via the HIPAA-secure messag- ing app, DocbookMD, are encrypted to protect you from potential security breaches.
• Taking a photo of a patient on your mobile phone. To some, this will sound silly; to others, it is as common as verifying a rash with a colleague. Simple enough; however, if these photos are viewed by eyes they are not intended for, you may be in viola- tion. DocbookMD allows you to take photos from within the app itself so
that the photos are never stored on your phone.
• Receiving text messages from your an- swering service. Many physicians be- lieve if they receive a text message from a third party such as an answer- ing service, they are not responsible for any HIPAA violation. This is sim- ply not true. Many services do send a patient’s name, phone number, and chief complaint via SMS text. They may verify it is encrypted on their
end, but if PHI pops onto your screen, it is not secure on your end — and this is where your responsibility lies.
• Allowing your child to borrow your phone that contains PHI. Many folks allow their kids to play with their phones. If your phone has an app that can access PHI, you may be guilty of a HIPAA breach if the information is viewed by or sent to someone it is not intended for. A simple fix is to use the DocbookMD PIN-lock feature.
Ask the TMA Knowledge Center Trust the answer
Q. Are employers required to compensate employees for accrued, unused vacation time when they voluntarily quit or employment is otherwise terminated?
A. Neither Texas nor federal law requires employers to offer vacation time; however, employers must honor the policies they have developed regarding vacation time. See the Texas Work- force Commission (TWC) publication Especially for Employers section on Vacation and Sick Leave at
www.texasworkforce.org /news/efte/
vacation_and_sick_leave.html or a sample policy at Accrued Leave Payouts at
www.texasworkforce.org/news/efte /
accrued_leave_payouts.html.
NOTICE: The Texas Medical Association provides this informa- tion with the express understanding that no attorney-client re- lationship exists, that neither TMA nor its attorneys are engaged in providing legal advice, and that the information is of a gener- al character. This is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. While every effort is made to ensure that content is complete, accurate, and timely, TMA cannot guarantee the accuracy and totality of the information contained in this publication and as- sumes no legal responsibility for loss or damages resulting from the use of this content. You should not rely on this information when dealing with personal legal matters; rather, legal advice from retained legal counsel should be sought.
August 2013 TEXAS MEDICINE 13
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