should jessica review on how the information was obtained by the attorney

Who is Jessica from General Hospital?

Jessica is the director of Health Information and Technology Services at General Hospital. At this facility, patient records are hybrid. The hospital was named as a defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit by a former patient (i.e., plaintiff). The trial is scheduled during the next week. During the discovery process, the plaintiff's health records and an incident report relative to the plaintiff's hospital stay were obtained by the plaintiff's attorney. The plaintiff's attorney has made it clear that she intends to have the health records and the incident report admitted into evidence and, further, that metadata associated with the electronic portions of the plaintiff's records will be sought.

Why are incident reports less likely to be admitted into evidence than health records?

Incident reports are less likely to be admitted into evidence than health records because they may not meet all the elements of the business records exception (for example, created at or near the time of the matter recorded). As a related matter, state law varies on the discoverability of incident reports.

What should Omar review?

1. Omar should review organizational policies and procedures to determine whether or not these are adequate or require modifications for remote workers. Polices that need to be reviewed include password management; virus protection; workstation use and access; storing and saving ePHI; and data transmission security. He should review the HHS guidance on remote use of and access to ePHI that is available at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/securityrule/remoteuse.pdf. He should conduct a risk analysis and determine strategies to mitigate the identified risks. He should review policies and procedures for safeguards for ePHI and conduct security awareness training specific for the employees who will be working remotely.

What is a practice brief for AHIMA?

AHIMA has a Practice Brief titled "Safeguards for Remote Access" that is available online and is a free resource. The information that follows is from that practice brief and provides additional policy and procedure guidance for remote access.

Who is Jan Geisler?

Jan Geisler is the HIM director at Hillside Medical Center. The administration at Hillside has just approved the budget, which includes a new electronic health record. They assign Jan as the project manager and give her the task of reviewing and selecting the company (vendor) with the EHR that best suits the hospital's needs. Jan immediately thinks of her college roommate Ana. Ana also majored in HIM and now works for a large EHR vendor in California. Jan sends a quick email to Ana to catch up and asks about her company's EHR system. Ana responds immediately with updated pictures of her family and some general information about the EHR her company sells. Ana offers for her company to fly Jan to California so she can see the system and have a live demonstration. As an added bonus, Ana cannot wait to see her friend, take her to dinner, and catch up. Jan goes to California and enjoys her time with Ana, but she is a little disappointed with the EHR system. She just doesn't think it will meet the needs of her hospital. Jan has a meeting with the chief information officer today and is expected to present her recommendations. She feels obligated to recommend Ana's company but she also has major concerns about their product.

Does Linda have to respond to a subpoena?

Yes, Linda must respond or risk being found in contempt of court or compelled to attend. Sometimes subpoenas are delivered without adequate advance notice, making it impossible to comply. A response is still required, however.

Can you attend a subpoena without notice?

Sometimes subpoenas are delivered without adequate advance notice, making it impossible to comply. A response is still required, however. If it is not possible to attend the deposition at the appointed time, Linda must at least contact the issuing attorney, inform him of this, and make alternative arrangements if possible.

Why were the recordings of Dianna's custody case not admissible?

In the summer of 2008, the state judge decided that the recordings were not admissible as evidence in the custody trial, since they violated the Nebraska Telecommunications Consumer Privacy Protection Act and were therefore obtained illegally.

How much did the client get for violating the wiretap act?

Then, in a federal civil lawsuit by the people whose oral communications had been illegally recorded, the clients got dinged for $60,000 each plus attorney’s fees for violating the Federal Wiretap Act, 18 USC Section 2511.

What did Dianna buy for Duke?

Just before Duke’s first unsupervised visit, Dianna bought a small digital recorder online. Dianna unstitched a bit of her daughter’s favorite teddy bear-known as “Little Bear”-and stuck the recorder inside, stitching the animal back up afterwards. The recorder never left the bear’s guts after this, except when the animal was washed. With no voice activation feature, the gadget simply recorded everything that happened in its presence, and Dianna periodically unstitched the bear just enough to insert a USB cable and download the audio recordings to her computer.

What to do if you suspect spyware?

DO: Advise your clients to change all of their passwords. And if you suspect that spyware has been installed, have the computer or phone inspected by an expert.

How much is the penalty for intercepted communication?

Each separate illegal use or disclosure of intercepted communication can be a federal or state felony and can result in a $10,000 civil penalty (plus actual damages and attorney’s fees).

Did Bianco solicit or advise Divingnzzos?

The court has carefully considered Mr. Bianco’s role in this matter and finds that damages should not be awarded against Mr. Bianco. Bianco did not solicit or advise the Divingnzzos to intercept the plaintiffs’ oral communications. While he disclosed the illegally-obtained materials to advance his client’s position in the Custody Case, the court did not consider the materials. The other recipients returned the materials unread or maintained the confidentiality of the communications.

Can you take possession of illegally obtained material?

DON’T: Take possession of illegally obtained material. If you have it in your possession, read it or listen to it, you may be committing a crime by using it in the preparation of your case.

Which rule prevents third party access to working papers?

C. Working papers are subject to the privileged communication rule, which, in most jurisdictions, prevents any third-party access to the working papers.

What happened to the CPA at a confidential meeting?

A year later, the CPA was subpoenaed to appear in federal court to testify in a criminal trial against the client. The CPA was asked to testify to the meeting between the CPA and the client.

What is a peer review team?

To a state CPA society peer review team. A. Pursuant to a state court subpoena. If a CPA is engaged by an attorney to assist in the defense of a criminal tax fraud case involving the attorney's client, information obtained by the CPA from the client after being engaged. A.

Can you subpoena a working paper?

A. Yes, if the working papers are lawfully subpoenaed into court.

Can disclosure be made to any party with the consent of the client?

B. Disclosure may be made to any party with the consent of the client.

Can a state agency make a disclosure without a subpoena?

A. Disclosure may be made to any state agency without subpoena.

Can accountant-client privilege be claimed in civil suits?

C. The accountant-client privilege can be claimed only in civil suits.