INTRODUCTION
Advance Housing, Inc. has adopted the HIPAA Policies and Procedures to comply with our duties under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) security and privacy regulations, as well as our duty to protect the confidentiality and integrity of confidential medical information as required by professional ethics.
All personnel, officers, interns, and volunteers of Advance Housing, Inc. must comply with these policies. Familiarity with these policies and demonstrated competence in the requirements of the policies are an important part of every employee’s responsibility.
All new employees receive HIPAA training within the new hire introductory period.
The Advance Housing, Inc. HIPAA Sanction Policy is intended as a guide for the efficient and professional performance of duties of Advance Housing, Inc.’s employees, officers, and agents to protect the integrity and confidentiality of medical and other sensitive information. Nothing therein shall be construed to be a contract between the employer and the employee. Additionally, nothing in the Sanction Policy is to be construed by any employee as containing binding terms and conditions of employment. Nothing in the Sanction Policy should be construed as conferring any employment rights on employees or changing their status from “at-will employees.” Advance Housing, Inc. retains the absolute right to terminate any employee, at any time, with or without good cause. Management retains the right to change the contents of the Sanction Policy as it deems necessary with or without notice.
Advance Housing, Inc. encourages family participation in the development of assessments, rehabilitation plans, and revisions to the extent that the consumer consents to family involvement and the disclosures to family members are permitted under the applicable Federal and State confidentiality laws.
Reference:
NJAC 10:37B-11.2(d)1
PRIVACY OFFICER
Advance Housing, Inc. has an identified Privacy Officer who is responsible for the development and implementation of the policies and procedures required by the HIPAA Security Rule.
The name and phone number of the Privacy Officer will be posted prominently in the waiting room of Advance Housing, Inc.’s offices and available on the website at www.advancehousing.org.
Procedure
The Privacy Officer is responsible for the following duties under 45 CFR § 164.530:
- Responsible for agency compliance with state and federal provisions governing the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI).
- In cooperation with agency Executive Management Team, develops, implements, and maintains agency privacy planning and programming.
- Performs initial and periodic information privacy risk assessments.
- Conducts on-going compliance monitoring activities in coordination with Advance Housing, Inc.’s other compliance and operational assessment functions.
- Works with management and legal affairs to ensure that Advance Housing, Inc. has and maintains appropriate privacy and confidentiality consents, authorization forms, information notices and materials reflecting current organization and legal practices and requirements.
- In cooperation with legal counsel, assists in the development, implementation and compliance monitoring of all business associates and trading partner agreements to ensure compliance with federal regulatory requirements.
- Establishes and administers a process for receiving, documenting, tracking, investigating, and taking action on all complaints concerning Advance Housing, Inc.’s privacy policies and procedures, in coordination and collaboration with other similar functions and, as appropriate, legal counsel.
- Participates in design and development of training programs and assists in the training of new workforce and other parties.
- Maintains current knowledge of federal and state privacy laws and regulations and accreditation standards. Monitors industry advances in information privacy technologies to ensure agency compliance.
- Prepares reports regarding privacy practices for Executive Management Team and Board of Directors.
- In cooperation with Legal Affairs, cooperates with the Office of Civil Rights, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and other legal entities and organization officers in any compliance reviews or investigations.
- Works with Executive Management Team to establish and maintain an Agency Privacy Committee, as needed, and to serve in a leadership role in its activities.
Reference:
CFR § 164.530