JOINT NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES BY COVERED ENTITIES
A "covered entity" under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is required to provide notice of its privacy practices with regard to protected health information to individuals in certain circumstances, such as when the individuals receive treatment or those who are enrolled in health plans. Covered entities that participate in organized health care arrangements may comply with this requirement by giving a joint notice. An organized health care arrangement contemplates two or more covered entities that combine their resources to comply with and perform certain functions regulated under HIPAA's Privacy Rule. A joint notice may be given under the following circumstances:
- The covered entities agree to abide by the terms of the joint notice.
- The joint notice contains all of the statements that are required in a single notice (covered in a separate article dealing with content of the notice). The statements can be altered to indicate that the notice encompasses more than one covered entity. The joint notice must describe with reasonable specificity the covered entities (or class of entities) to which the notice applies. The notice can state, when applicable, that the covered entities intend to share protected health information with each other to carry out treatment, payment or health care operations as needed to carry out the organized health care arrangement.
- The covered entities must provide notice to individuals in accordance with implementation specifications (covered more completely in a separate article dealing with providing notice of privacy practices). Notice by any one of the covered entities included in the joint notice will satisfy the notice requirements for all covered entities included in the joint notice.
As with a notice provided by a single covered entity, covered entities participating in organized health care arrangements that provide a joint notice of privacy practices must obtain a written acknowledgement of receipt of the notice. If a written acknowledgement cannot be obtained, the covered entity that has a direct treatment relationship with the individual must document its good faith effort to obtain the acknowledgment. If joint notice is provided by covered entities that do not have a direct treatment relationship with the individual, a written acknowledgment of receipt of notice does not have to be obtained.
Copyright 2008 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
