What information about a patient can a physician give to a collection agency in order to collect payment?
In essence, the collection agency would be performing a service to a covered entity that involves the use or disclosure of individually identifiable health information, so the physician should enter into a Business Associate Contract with the collection agency. Click here for information on Business Associate Contracts: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/guidelines/businessassociates.pdf. Furthermore, the physician should only release the “minimum necessary” amount of protected health information to the collection agency for the payment to be collected. The HIPAA Privacy Rule does not say what information is considered “minimum necessary.” Click here for the “minimum necessary” rule: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/guidelines/minimumnecessary.pdf. It is important for the physician to work closely with the collection agency to develop a protocol regarding what information will be released. The physician and the collection agency should be in compliance with the protocol once it is developed. In
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