Home Forums Discussions Problems hippa - faxing to pt?

I was wondering if anyone could give me a firm answer as to this question:

Is it a HIPPA violation to fax lab/radiology results to a patient's home fax machine at their verbal request?

Thanks!

I don't have a firm answer but a good practice might be to have a standard disclosure form where new patients (and existing patients) can explicitly decide if they want their information transmitted via facsimile or if messages can be left on their answering machine/voice mail.

Some people have similar forms that explicitly say you must notify the physician/office if certain modes of communication are unacceptable.

Even if a patient wants standard email, I wouldn't do it unless you have encrypted e-mail or use a patient portal. You must apply appropriate safe guards to whatever method you use.