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Health Information Privacy – Case Study

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

1. • Describe the process of submitting a health information privacy complaint to the OCR.

Assignment Requirements

Imagine that you are a sophomore in college. Over the past few months, you have not been well due to increased amounts of academic pressure and found yourself unable to concentrate in class or sleep well at night. You went to the student medical center for evaluation and, after consulting with the staff doctor, you were issued a prescription for the treatment of depression.

A few days later, one of your professors tells you that he too has had to take medicine for depression in the past. You ask him how he knew about your situation, and he replied that all student medical records are available to every instructor and staff member at the college. Hearing this, you feel that your privacy rights have been violated.

That afternoon you research privacy rights on the internet. You visit the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) site and learn about filing a HIPAA privacy complaint to the OCR (https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html).

While completing the complaint form, you realize some sections are critical to your case and must be addressed carefully. You decide to write about your experience in a paper for your class.

For this assignment:

1. Describe the overall process of submitting a health information privacy complaint to the OCR.
2. Identify specific sections of the complaint form that need critical attention while completing the form.
3. Analyze a few situations that can occur if the critical sections are not well identified.
4. Draft a brief summary, collating all your findings.

Required Resources

1. • Course textbook
   • Internet access

Submission Requirements

1. • Format: Microsoft Word (or compatible)
   • Font: Arial, size 12, double-space
   • Citation Style: Follow your school’s preferred style guide

• Length: 1–2 pages minimum

Self-Assessment Checklist

1. • I described the overall process of submitting a health information privacy complaint to the OCR.
   • I identified specific sections of the complaint form that need critical attention while completing the form.
   • I analyzed a few situations that can occur if the critical sections are not well identified.
   • I created a professional, well-developed summary report with proper documentation, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
   • I followed the submission guidelines.