According to the Maryland Board of Physicians, there are some places that are not acceptable to take a Zoom call.
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A plastic surgeon was reprimanded and fined $15,000 by the Maryland Board of Physicians for attending legislative meetings while in the operating room.
Terri Hill, MD is a practicing surgeon and a state delegate. She appeared to present a bill she was sponsoring with gowned and masked people behind her.
She also attended another legislative meeting while in the operating room.
Dr. Hill said that she did not think there were any safety or privacy concerns with her behavior. In fining and reprimanding Dr. Hill, the Maryland Board of Physicians seemed to disagree.
While many physicians don’t attend meetings from the exam room or operating room, this serves as a good reminder to not get complacent regarding privacy and security. As many facilities are using telehealth and Zoom for meetings, it is essential to be cognizant of surroundings.
Does your practice ensure that all meeting attendees are in a location that they are able to maintain confidentiality of all protected health information (PHI)? They should be able to attend without others seeing or hearing the meeting.
Remote employees attending meetings involving PHI should have a dedicated space, away from other members of their household.
It is also essential to be aware of what others attending the video meeting are able to see. Do you have patient files on your desk? Or visible PHI? If so, this should be moved out of view of the camera.
When we think of telehealth, we often think of HIPAA security. While it is incredibly important to protect PHI by ensuring use of a secure forum, adequate firewalls and secure log-ins, it is also essential to think about HIPAA privacy.
We help our clients ensure that all PHI is protected and accounted for when performing their risk assessment.
If you need help ensuring your practice’s PHI is secure, call us today!
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