Ensuring HIPAA Compliance When Transmitting PHI Via Patient Portals, Email, and Texting
Protecting Patient Privacy, Complying With State and Federal Regulations, Meeting Meaningful Use Standards

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
- work Practice Area
Health
- event Date
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE course will guide healthcare counsel on measures for hospitals and physicians to ensure compliance and minimize liability when using patient portals and other electronic means to communicate protected health information (PHI). The panel will outline the legal risks with patient portal use and offer best practices for implementing effective policies to ensure HIPAA and regulatory compliance.
Faculty

Mr. Greene specializes in health information privacy and security laws, using his experience as a former regulator to help clients understand how they can permissibly leverage their health data, bring their information security programs into compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule, and respond to potential breach incidents. Mr. Greene works with healthcare providers, health plans, cloud services providers, health IT companies, and financial institutions to navigate HIPAA and the patchwork of other federal and state health information laws. His work ranges from applying health information laws to new technologies, such as AI and machine learning, to working with organizations to analyze complex privacy and security incidents involving health data under federal and state breach notification laws. Before joining the firm, Mr. Greene worked on HIPAA and the HITECH Act at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in its Office of General Counsel and Office for Civil Rights.

Mr. Blaney’s practice focuses on regulatory compliance, enforcement, litigation and transactions in the areas of data privacy, cybersecurity, healthcare, and emerging technologies. He advises private equity, asset managers, healthcare, life sciences, retail and technology clients on privacy and cybersecurity compliance, cybersecurity incidents and government investigations, including acting as lead counsel in defending clients in regulatory investigations by HHS-OCR, DOJ, FTC, FCC and State Attorneys General. Mr. Blaney counsels clients on federal, state, and international privacy and security laws including California Consumer Privacy Act, EU GDPR, and HIPAA, among others. He has expertise counseling clients on emerging artificial intelligence, digital health, healthcare fraud and abuse, third-party reimbursement and FDA regulatory matters. He also has substantial experience in defending healthcare clients in False Claims Act qui tam matters and has obtained several declinations and dismissals
Description
Many healthcare providers have established patient information portals to provide patients with online access to their patient records and meet quality improvement goals. Patient access to health information is one of the core objectives of meaningful use, which all Medicare providers are required to demonstrate.
While portals give patients access to information, they require providers to take measures to ensure the privacy and security of patient PHI. In addition to portals, providers' use of email and texting to communicate PHI raises HIPAA and other regulatory red flags.
Further, providers using third parties to manage portals must have business associate agreements that ensure compliance by the third-party associates.
Listen as our authoritative panel of healthcare counsel examines the legal and regulatory requirements and risks of using patient portals, online diagnostic services, email, texting, and other electronic communication for healthcare providers. The panel will offer strategies to ensure HIPAA compliance and minimize patient claims and government enforcement actions.
Outline
- Legal and regulatory requirements
- Legal pitfalls
- Strategies for compliance
- Policies and procedures
- Enforcement and monitoring
- Business associate agreements
- Training
Benefits
The panel will review these and other crucial issues:
- What risks do hospitals and providers face when using patient portals and electronic means to communicate with patients and other healthcare providers?
- What steps can healthcare providers take to protect patient privacy and ensure HIPAA compliance?
- What are the primary considerations for healthcare provider counsel when developing and implementing policies regarding patient portals and electronic communication of PHI?
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