PRIVACY OFFICE

PROTECTING EMPLOYEE / PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY

The Privacy Office is responsible for the maintenance and administration of the Privacy Rule. The Privacy Office is diligent in ensuring that the privacy of our patients, as well as the privacy of our employees who are patients, is protected. Anytime an employee, student and/or their family members are admitted into the University, they are flagged in the system as a VIP. While the employee/patient is in-house the Privacy Office completes daily VIP audits to monitor for any unusual activity. The VIP audit indicates the names of employees who have accessed records of other patients/employees. VIP findings of inappropriate activities result in a privacy investigation.

The Privacy Office also encourages employees/patients to request an Accounting of Disclosures, which is a summary report that identifies all employees who have accessed the employee/patient’s medical record and/or identifies any releases of copies of their medical record. The Accounting of Disclosures is provided to employees/patients for free, and is an accounting of who has accessed the patient’s record as far back as April 14, 2003, which is when HIPAA was implemented.  If after reviewing the summary the employee/patient has concerns, the employee/patient should ask that an investigation be launched by the Privacy Office.     

Contact Information:

• Patricia Cunningham-Brooks, RHIA
  Privacy Officer
  (312) 355-5650
• Wanda Williams
  Privacy Office Coordinator
  (312) 413-4947