Question

Debbie, an HIM professional, was recently hired as the privacy officer at a large physician practice. She observes the following practices, all of which occur without patient authorization. Which is a violation of the HIPAA privacy rule?

a) Sharing patient information with authorized healthcare providers
b) Obtaining patient consent before sharing information with family members
c) Sending patient information to third-party marketing agencies
d) Notifying patients about the clinic's privacy practices

Answer 1

Sending patient information to third-party marketing agencies without authorization is considered a violation of the HIPAA privacy rule. The correct option is c.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question relates to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the confidentiality of patient information. Debbie, an HIM professional and privacy officer at a physician practice, observes several practices without patient authorization.

Among the practices listed, sending patient information to third-party marketing agencies (option c) would be a violation of the HIPAA privacy rule. HIPAA protects against unauthorized, nonconsensual release of individually identifiable health information to entities not engaged in providing healthcare.

Sharing patient information with authorized healthcare providers and obtaining patient consent before sharing information with family members do not violate HIPAA. Notifying patients about the clinic's privacy practices is a requirement under HIPAA and is also not a violation.

Hence, Option c is correct.