I would think that any doctor working in a hospital will be subject to the privacy rules... So e-mail will be subject to the privacy rules.... And after a long discussion here, apparently a fax IS NOT an electronic transmission as specifically defined in the HIPAA rules....
But I think in any case they are at the minimum Business Associates... Or if employees, they are part of the Covered Entity.. UNLESS they do all of their billing on paper!! All of this only applies if you use EDI.... But normal privacy rules that are not specified in the HIPAA rules will apply then... Whether they be more or less stringent... -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, April 29, 2002 3:33 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: filing instructions What if the physicians transmit claim or PHI related information via email? Such as providing follow up clarification outside of the primary covered entity's system? They may individually use email to receive a request, then provide additional info via a web-interface? What about them faxing documents directly from their private office or residence? Might they then be considered individual covered entities? Regards, Dr. Tim McGuinness, Ph.D. Sr. Compliance Specialist & Solutions Architect Certified HIPAA Chief Privacy Officer DynTek Inc. www.dyntek.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, April 29, 2002 2:01 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: filing instructions I am a new member of this listserv, so please excuse me if you've already addressed this topic in your conversations. While attending the Fourth HIPAA Summit in Washington DC, I posed a question about requirements for including all physician codes on the extension form. I work in a hospital with 600+ practicing physicians and was concerned about reporting each of their numbers on the form. I was told that individually these physicians would not be considered covered entities since they do not transmit electronic transactions themselves, but through the hospital's automated applications. Therefore, only the hospital's code would be needed on the extension form. Would you agree with this advice?
