Doug's comments are all valid.  Let me address the information security
issues he hasn't.

You are going to be including your med eval contractor in your process. 
You need to make sure that you

(1) Clearly identify in the contract that the information is subject to
HIPAA and provacy legislation at the local, state and federal levels.

(2) All contractor employees who will have access to the information need
to be educated and agree in writing to conform to the contractual privacy
language.

(3) Responsibility and penalties for privacy violations must be spelled out
(including cause for cancelation).  Who handles a lawsuit and who pays for
the costs / judgements must be included.  Costs to replace vendor if terms
are broken should be covered.

(4) Provisions must be included for you to inspect the contractors
procedures.

(5) Ownership of the documents should remain yours, and be stated in your
agreement.  The format, expected response time and costs for delivery of
documents should be stated up front.  Cancelation for cause should not
produce additional cost; it may be less cost.

(6) information transfers both ways must be engineered in a secure manner,
whether paper or electronic, and provide a log.  Formats and methods should
be spelled out, either in the contract or an attachment post award, to
ensure ease of operation for both parties and HIPAA / privacy and audit
compliance.

Just a quick list.

Bernard Chester
IMERGE Consulting

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Steve Shalagan [log in to unmask]
Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 09:09:09 -0600
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [RM] HIPPA AND MEDICAL RECORDS


 
Hi All,

We are in the process of evaluating the possibility of using a 3rd party
vendor for medical evaluations. I would appreciate any questions or
comments about the idea as it relates to concerns and questions
regarding Medical Records, HIPPA, etc...   

Specific case examples and experiences would be great but I am
entertaining all comers at the moment to get the flavour and scope of an
endeavor like this. 

Thanks

Steve

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance

--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance