Southern Orthopaedic Specialists

POLICY NAME: Privacy Complaint Process 

Date: ______________________

Number: ______________________

Purpose: To facilitate compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (Privacy Standards), Administrative Requirements.

Policy: Under the Privacy Standards, a patient may file a complaint with the facility, as well as with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of these complaint mechanisms is to instill a measure of accountability. The facility has a complaint process in place that will be utilized to handle privacy complaints.

Procedure:
The contact person at Southern Orthopaedic Specialists who handles privacy complaints is: Patrice Fraser-Orr.

1. The information gathered should include the following:
· Name of the complainant
· Date the complaint was filed
· Date and time of the incident (if applicable)
· Location
· Names of any members of the workforce who were involved
· Names of any physicians who were involved
· Short summary of the dispute.

2. Receipt of a complaint must be acknowledged in writing by the Facility Privacy Official (FPO) or designee.

3. The FPO or designee will develop and maintain a disposition report that identifies any privacy deficiencies discovered in the investigation and the remedial steps to be taken. The FPO or designee will also develop a report regarding the disposition of the investigation to be provided to the complainant and maintained by the FPO or designee.

4. The FPO or designee will develop and utilize a complaint process that includes an intake form, an investigation form, and a disposition report that can be tracked and included in the disposition file for the complaint.

Should a complaint against a workforce member or physician be found to be valid, the disposition of such complaint will be consistent with the facility’s Sanctions for Privacy Violations.