| May, 2010
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Greetings!
I hope this message finds you well and enjoying the warm days we've been treated to recently.
Please find below a brief list of important NHP updates.
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| Managing Protected Information |
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This past March, the new Standards for the Protection of Personal Information of Residents of the Commonwealth law went into effect. The law establishes minimum standards for the protection of Personal Information (PI) contained in both paper and electronic records. It requires that Personal Information be encrypted when feasible, as well as protected from unauthorized access.
Here at NHP, we have kicked off an agressive campaign to raise staff's awareness on safely managing Protected Information (PI) and/or Protected Health Information (PHI). We've employed a variety of training approaches, including dissemination of the following guidelines for when working on-site and remotely:
- To use Social Security Numbers only if absolutely necessary and when exchanging such information, ensuring that the transmission is securely encrypted
- A reminder that removing confidential or sensitive information from NHP's premises is strictly prohibited
- To validate fax numbers to make sure the information reaches the intended recipient and call the recipient before faxing highly sensitive information
- To e-mail password protected documents containing PHI/PI, but to call the recipient with the password versus sending it via e-mail
- When receiving emails containing PHI/PI, to call the sender instead with the response and inform them of NHP's policies on exchange of confidential information. If replying in writing, the NHP representative must do so via a separate email having first removed all confidential information
- To shred paper documents containing PHI/PI when no longer needed
- To not use personal hard drives and/or portable devices to store confidential information.
Please share this important information with staff, particularly those who exchange sensitive patient or provider information with NHP staff regularly as part of their jobs. |
