Patient privacy is a priority at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, as we strive every day to provide the highest‑quality care and best patient experience that we can. Final part of a three-part series.
We all play a role in protecting patient privacy, and one crucial way we can do our part is by ensuring that others cannot hear private conversations with patients.
Failure to properly safeguard protected health information (PHI) is a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and, just as importantly, it endangers the trust we have earned from our patients and the community over the years.
Communicating clearly at low volumes can be difficult these days due to universal masking.
It can be even more challenging for registration and checkout desk staff, thanks to plexiglass barriers and physical distancing guidelines designed to help protect our staff and patients from potential exposure to COVID-19.
Raising our voices increases the chance that other patients or visitors may hear PHI about another individual.
Yet there are steps we can take to help protect patient privacy:
- Place signs near the registration/checkout desk to remind patients to stay at least six feet from others.
- Rearrange waiting room furniture and use sound-masking solutions such as music or ambient noise to help prevent others from hearing conversations with patients.
- Only ask patients for the minimum information needed for registration.
- Try to avoid referencing aloud why a patient is there, especially if it is likely to cause embarrassment. For example, you should not ask, “Are you here for the HIV test?”
- When patient health information must be discussed and others are nearby, offer to meet with the patient in a more private location.
Geri Karpiscak, MSN, RN, director of Patient Relations and Customer Service, is the entity privacy officer at Penn Medicine Princeton Health. You may report suspected privacy violations to her at 609-853-7157.
You may also contact the Penn Medicine Privacy Office – privacy@uphs.upenn.edu. If you wish to remain anonymous, please call the 215-PCOMPLY hotline (215-726-6759) or file a complaint online at www.upenn.edu/215pcomply.