Under the Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a consultant hired by a private medical practice to audit medical records would be considered a Business Associate.
A Business Associate is an individual or organization that performs certain functions or activities on behalf of a covered entity (such as a healthcare provider) that involve the use or disclosure of protected health information (PHI). PHI refers to individually identifiable health information transmitted or maintained in any form or medium.
In this scenario, the consultant is working with the medical records, which contain PHI. As a result, they are required to comply with HIPAA regulations and maintain the privacy and security of the PHI they access.
To ensure compliance, the private practice and the consultant would need to establish a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) outlining the responsibilities and obligations of the consultant regarding the protection and appropriate use of PHI. The BAA establishes a legal framework to safeguard the privacy and security of the patients' health information and holds the consultant accountable for HIPAA compliance.