Michigan HIPAA Update

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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The Michigan Optometric Association
O: 517.482.0616

Michigan HIPAA Update

The Michigan Optometric Association (MOA) board is working on giving you everything you need to know about HIPAA compliance. Our role is to serve as a resource of information. The steps you need to take for compliance, however, are still ultimately up to you.

The American Optometrict Association (AOA) has provided a compliance manual in a *.pdf (Adobe Acrobat) or a Microsoft Word document that is available to AOA members only through the AOA web site under the “Advocacy” section. Click here to go to the AOA web site. Have your AOA ID number ready to “log-in”. You should download this manual, print it out, and put it into a binder. Then follow the “cookbook” action plan in the manual to help start your compliance plan.

You will need two documents for your practice adapted for use in Michigan:

1. Business Associate Contract (This link should go to the document on our server)

You need this for vendors you do business with which you exchange Protected Health Information (PHI).

2. Notice of Privacy Practices (Also linked to the appropriate document)

This is the notice that you send to your patients informing them of how you manage Protected Health Information in your office routines. You need to be making a “good faith effort” to obtain the patient’s acknowledgement of your Privacy Practices, but under the latest rule revisions you are not required to obtain this acknowledgement. Simply mailing the Notice of Privacy Practices should be sufficient.

You are free to edit the above two documents prepared by the MOA legal counsel for your particular practice in Michigan. If you substantially alter the documents, you may need to consult your own legal counsel. Additional questions on these two documents can be directed to Kevin Moody, J.D. of Miller Canfield at moody@millercanfield.com .

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