Volunteer Online Orientation - HIPAA Test

Your sister’s friend just had triple bypass surgery at one of our facilities. She asks you to find out his condition. What should you do?

Ask a nurse on the floor how the patient is doing and pass the information along to your sister.

Log in to the computerized record system and read the patient’s record to find information for your sister.

Explain that it is a violation of the patient’s privacy for you to ask around or look at his record, and suggest that she talk to her friend or call one of her friend’s family members.

None of the above.

A government agent comes into one of our facilities and tells you he must access patient information on the computers and wants you to answer questions and give him computer access. How should you respond to this request?

Immediately provide him with the information or access he needs.

After seeing his ID, let him know that the organization and you will cooperate, but that you first must contact the Corporate Responsibility Officer, Risk Manager, and Department Director over the area.

Tell him, “No way. That information is protected."

None of the above.

HIPAA defines confidential patient information as “PHI”. PHI is the abbreviation for:

Private Hospital Issues

Primary Healthcare Infrastructure

Protected Health Information

Privileged Health Interrogatory

When are you free to repeat a patient’s PHI that you hear on the job?

After you no longer work at the organization.

After a patient dies.

If you know the patient would not mind.

When your job requires it.

The computer systems and equipment you use while volunteering at Mercy are all assets of the hospital. Therefore, you should:

Have no expectation of privacy.

Expect your email/web usage to be private.

Allow your team members access to your password in case you forget it.

Stay logged in to your station computer system for ease of the next volunteer coming on.

What question should you always ask yourself before looking at patient information?

Would the patient mind if I looked at this?

Do I need to know this to do my job?

Can anyone see what I’m doing?

Am I curious?

What type of gifts may I accept from a business source, patient, resident or a member of his/her family?

Cash or cash equivalents.

None

Equipment & furniture for your department.

Computer and Printer for my department

When is it acceptable to share your password?

When one of our physicians forgets his/her password: he/she must have immediate access.

When your new co-worker hasn’t had one assigned from IT yet and it saves time.

When you know you can trust the person to use it appropriately.

Never

Which of the following types of information does HIPAA’s privacy rule protect?

Patient information in electronic form.

Patient information communicated orally.

Patient information in paper form.

All of the above.

You are in the hospital volunteering and you learn that one of your neighbors has just arrived in the ER for treatment after a car crash. You should:

Contact the neighbor’s spouse to alert him or her about the injuries.

Try to find out the seriousness of your neighbor’s injuries

Do nothing as any information regarding the patient is considered PHI and therefore is confidential.

Wait until you go home and call your neighbor.

You are delivering flowers to a patient’s room. When you enter, you realize you know the patient. You can:

Smile, say hello and state why you are there.

Ask the patient why he or she is in the hospital

If the patient tells you why he or she is in the hospital, assume it is ok to tell others.

If the patient tells you why he or she is in the hospital, ask if it is ok to tell others.

Mercy Foundation

HIPAA Test

Volunteer HIPAA and Corporate Responsibility Test