This month’s training is going to focus on speaking patient information in a way that can be overheard by others. Many of these will be very obvious, but when a practice gets busy, sometimes that can cause mistakes. The purpose of this training is just to help this information be set in the back of your mind.

In a busy office, this is very difficult to avoid but there are ways to minimize the exposure by just being aware of our surroundings. This may not result in a large breach like a hacker stealing all patient data from a practice, but if the right patient were to overhear, it could become a source of embarrassment and frustration for any practice. In small towns where everyone knows everyone else, this sort of slip-up becomes the source of town gossip. Patients love to see if people they know have issues that they can let others know about. Usually, this is out of what they perceive as caring for or looking out for people. But sometimes it can be malicious in nature.

This can be especially dangerous for a practice that is treating a celebrity or someone of note. If this information is overheard by the wrong person, then it ends up on the 6 o’clock news. This is often how reporters get their information, by simply hanging out in areas where they can overhear information that they can use in their reports.

Let’s take some examples. Hopefully, these will help give you a better idea of where these types of incidents can take place.

Front desk

At a front desk during check-in, patient information will be discussed. A patient will give their name and the reason for their visit. This is normal. However, practice employees shouldn’t add to the information that the patient has given. If a patient is coming in for routine blood work, don’t ask them how their leg is doing from a previous visit. Remember, patients are able to disclose their information freely and it’s not a violation of any HIPAA regulations but practice employees shouldn’t confirm or add information that can be overheard by other non-practice staff.

Just one more question…

When a physician is leaving a patient exam room and the patient asks another question is another opportunity for unintentional disclosure of patient information. This is a common area for mistakes as patients always have “just one more question” after the exam is over. Instead of answering the question from outside the room or in the open doorway, simply step back in and close the door to answer any remaining questions. All exam room patient visits should be conducted behind a closed door to ensure patient privacy. Most patients won’t realize the burden practice staff are under concerning HIPAA regulations and won’t understand why this last question can become troublesome. In most cases, a patient simply wouldn’t are but again, all it takes is that one patient that doesn’t want others to hear about their medical information.

This would be especially true for mental health practices or other areas of health that would deal with more sensitive topics.

Patient phone calls

Making phone calls to a patient is also a normal way to deliver information. However, it is important to ensure these calls are made from locations where other patients in the practice can’t overhear the information in the call. Usually, this can be achieved from an office away from others, but many calls are made from the front desk or check-out area. Make sure that no one is able to hear your phone discussions with patients when you place these calls.

Key Points

• Be aware of who else is around you when you discuss patient information. Make sure that others aren’t in a position to overhear.
• All exam room discussions should be performed behind closed doors
• Patients are allowed to release their own information in any way they see fit. But this doesn’t give practice employees permission to do the same, even if the patient already released it. \
• All phone calls to patients should be performed in a way that doesn’t allow others around you to hear patient information