Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. POLICY ON PROTECTION OF RECORDS/HIPAA COMPLIANCE Specific bylaws governing the protection of records are as follows: (a) All records (patient files, personnel files, administrative files) shall be filed under a generally accepted principle of filing. (b) Every file shall be filed in a file cabinet. (c) All file cabinets shall be protected and be equipped with a lock system, and keys to the cabinets shall be accessible only to office staff personnel. (d) A file movement register shall be maintained to monitor the movement of files. Such a register shall have columns showing the date, time, name of file, name of staff removing file from the cabinet, date/time returned and signature of staff making entry. (e) No information regarding any aspect of contents of office files shall be released to any person who is not a staff member of this agency without prior approval from the Director, the Administrator or the Director of Nursing, Clinical Manager. (f) In relation to patient clinical records, no such information concerning those records shall be released to any person without the written consent of the patient concerned. (g) On no account shall information on any protected record be released to anyone over the telephone. (h) All records of this agency shall remain a jealously guarded secret of this agency. This is the language of the medical profession. Home Health Agency - - Skilled Professional Services C-21