HIPAA Compliance Info
DATE: April 2, 2007
As you are probably aware,
compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule was required
as of April 20, 2005. Covered Entities must obtain
a signed Business Associate Agreement with any business
associates under the Privacy and Security Rules.
As a Covered Entity, you may have already signed
a Business Associate Agreement with Wal-Mart Stores,
Inc. in the past. However, implementation of the
HIPAA Security Rule required changes to the original
Business Associate Agreement. Nonetheless, whether
you are a new or an existing Doctor with Wal-Mart
or Sam's Club,
you would have been given the opportunity to sign
a Business Associate Agreement that included language
referencing the Security Rule.
Whether you have signed a Business Associate Agreement
with Wal-Mart in the past or not, it is important
to evaluate whether a business associate relationship
exists and whether there is a need for you to sign
a Business Associate Agreement. To assist you in
doing so, the first step is to determine if you are
a “Covered Entity.” Covered Entity is
defined as “a health care provider who transmits
health information electronically in connection with
a HIPAA standard transaction such as insurance related
claims, payment, eligibility, authorization or certification.”
For many of you, we provide these insurance related
transactions as services on your behalf, thus making
you a Covered Entity. You are also a Covered Entity
if these electronic transactions are performed by
your staff or contracted services in other locations
inside or outside of a Wal-Mart or Sam's Club.
If you are a covered entity, we consider ourselves
to be your business associate when:
- we provide paraoptometric technicians to you
- we provide insurance billing services on your
behalf
Independent Doctors are not healthcare components
or part of hybrid or affiliated entities with Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc. as this requires common ownership. Wal-Mart
and the Independent Doctors are separate legal entities
that have no common ownership. If you are not a Covered
Entity under HIPAA, a business associate relationship
does not exist and Wal-Mart will not sign a Business
Associate Agreement. A business associate relationship
exists where Wal-Mart provides services that require
use or disclosure of PHI on behalf of the Independent
Doctor who is a Covered Entity.
If you wish to have Wal-Mart sign a different Business
Associate Agreement, please contact me so that I
may arrange for the proposed agreement to be reviewed
by the Wal-Mart Legal Department.
If you have any questions or need additional information,
please do not hesitate to .
Laura Asbury
Optical Links
Department of Health and Human Services, HIPAA
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/
HIPAAdvisory, Phoenix Health Systems
http://www.hipaadvisory.com/action/legalqa/hipaalaw.htm
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)--The Contact Lens Rule: Guide for Prescribers and Sellers
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/contact.htm
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)--Q&A: Complying with the Contact Lens Rule
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/contactfaq.htm
Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO)
http://www.arbo.org/index.php?action=arboDirectoryOfBoards
National Academy of Opticianry – State Opticianry Boards
http://www.nao.org/AddInfo/state.htm
State Optometry Board Websites: