Is this a HIPPA violation? Â

Is this a HIPPA violation?  

answers 0:About a year ago, I took my children to a new dental office. My best friend has used this office for about three years. We were living in an apartment on her property and our mail came addressed to us in care of her.(We were having difficulty with a forwarding mail issue at the time.) My husband's insurance denied payment on this bill and we are still in a dispute with the insurance company. Since that time we have moved to a new address, which the dental office has. Our phone number has not changed. It is still the number they have on file for us. Yesterday the dental office left a message on my friend's answering machine telling her we still owed a balance to them. We have never had the same phone number as her. She is listed as an emergency contact. Today she received an envelope from them in which the company included a copy of our most recent statement as well ! as a copy of the ledger sheet detailing all specific work done on my children, insurance payments, and adjustments made to the account. The outstanding balance was circled on both items. The envelope was addressed to her not either my husband or myself. If this is a HIPPA violation, what are my options? I am now worried that they might send something like this to my or my husband's job next....Show moreanswers 1:Techincly it is a HIPAA violation if they do have your corect information but before you hire a lawyer and go down the road of a lawsuit, i recommend you go in to the physician clinci/hopsital and speak to a person face to face that can change your address in the system. Its a simple fix, however if you feel you have gone thru major embaressment you have a case. (i work at a clinic myself, and i do realize mistakes do happen but the patient has options.)answers 2:I don't think it is a HIPPA violation because it did not include any information relating to your actual! health status. (But, it does seem like it is a privacy violat! ion of some sort.) Call the dentist's office right away and make sure they have your correct name, address, and phone number. Inform them of their screw up and that you are NOT happy about it and that you will consider legal action if this is a HIPPA violation. I am pretty sure that they cannot send billing statements to your employers. Ask them to read to you the information they have on you and your family regarding your current address. ...answers 3:Yes, it is a violation. Here is a pasting from the site linked below:The HIPAA Privacy Rule (45 CFR Parts 160 and 164) provides the "federal floor" of privacy protection for health information in the United States, while allowing more protective ("stringent") state laws to continue in force. Under the Privacy Rule, protected health information (PHI) is defined very broadly. PHI includes individually identifiable health information related to the past, present or future physical or mental health or condition, the provision of! health care to an individual, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to an individual. Even the fact that an individual received medical care is protected information under the regulation.The Privacy Rule establishes a federal mandate for individual rights in health information, imposes restrictions on uses and disclosures of individually identifiable health information, and provides for civil and criminal penalties for violations.I'd call their office and let them know that you are seeking a lawyer. However, there is something you may be missing about how to dispute a bill without ruining your credit or causing problems like this--you pay the bill, then you dispute it....