HIPAA Alert: Thinking of Updating Your Electronic Health Record at Work? Don't! FairWarning Reports Your Actions

REMINDER: Know & Follow HIPAA

NEVER Edit or Update Your Own Electronic Health Record

MHS employees must know and follow HIPAA privacy regulations, including those forbidding employees from editing or updating their own electronic health records or those of family members, including minor children. It is also a HIPAA violation to schedule your own medical appointments in Cerner.

Methodist's FairWarning patient privacy monitoring software identifies and automatically reports every employee who makes changes or schedules appointments in their own or a family member's electronic health record.

Effective Nov. 21: Unauthorized EHR Use Will Be Reported to Your Supervisor

Effective November 21, 2016, supervisors will be automatically alerted to any direct report's HIPAA violation involving unauthorized use of electronic health records. Employees in violation of policy will be disciplined according to current HR policies.

If You Are an MHS Employee and an MHS Patient:

• You are never authorized to edit or update your own electronic health record in Cerner -- or those of your family members, including your minor children. In addition, this means never using Cerner to schedule appointments for yourself or a loved one.   

• You have the same options as our other patients to update medical information or make an appointment: 1) Contact your care provider via phone, or 2) Contact your care provider via the patient portal at my.Bestcare.org.

• You need to know that Methodist's FairWarning privacy monitoring software is sending alerts on all employees who use Cerner to make changes or schedule appointments in their own or their family members’ electronic health records.

• Effective November 21, supervisors will be automatically alerted to all employee violations of Methodist policy, and staff will be disciplined according to current HR policies.

Questions?

For questions about HIPAA, contact HIPAA Privacy Officer Zorana Vojnovic at (402) 354-6863 or @email.

Attention, Supervisors:

Please post this HIPAA Alert and discuss in your staff meetings.