Notices of privacy practices

Reproduced from [name of publication] © 2008 HCPro, Inc., 200 Hoods Lane, Marblehead, MA 01945. 781/639-1872. www.hcpro.com. Used with permission.

Do notices of privacy practices (NPP) apply to business associates of a covered entity, such as a billing agency for physician practice? A covered entity (e.g., a physician practice) issues an NPP to tell patients what information it collects about them, how it will use that information, and what patients’ rights are with respect to their information. The NPP does not provide any specific protection for the physician practice, and it does not apply to business associates, such as a billing agency. However, the covered entity (physician practice) must have a business associate agreement with the billing agency to protect the information the billing agency can access.