Deck 5: Unique Health Identifiers and Hipaa Myths

Question 1

HIPAA seeks to protect individual PHI and discloses that information only when it is in the best interest of the patient.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The unique identifier for employers is the Social Security Number (SSN) of the business owner.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Notice of Privacy Practices (NOPP) must be given to patients every time they visit the facility.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

One reason not to use the SSN for patient identifiers is that there is no check digit for verification of the number.

Question 5

HIPAA allows disclosure of PHI in many new ways.

Question 6

Including employers in the standard transaction

A) is not really needed since they are not health plans.
B) gives the employer access to PHI of their employees.
C) is necessary for Workers' Compensation claims and when verifying enrollment in a plan.
D) prohibits employees from enrolling in a group health plan when they change jobs.

Question 7

Covered entities who violate HIPAA law are only punished with civil, monetary penalties.

Question 8

Prescriptions may only be picked up by the patient to protect the privacy of the individual's health information.

Question 9

The adopted standard identifier for employers is the

A) SSN.
B) EIN.
C) TIN.
D) CMS.

Question 10

When a patient is transferred to another facility, access to the medical records by the receiving facility is no longer permitted under HIPAA.

Question 11

The new National Provider Identifier (NPI) has "intelligence" that allows you to find out the provider's specialty.

Question 12

The law Congress passed in 1996 mandated identifiers for which four categories of entities?

A) Health plans, employers, health care providers, government insurers
B) Health care providers, health plans, health care clearinghouses, employers
C) Health care clearinghouses, employers, health care providers, patients
D) Health care providers, health plans, patients, employers

Question 13

The National Provider Identifier (NPI) issued by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) replaces only those numbers issued by private health plans.

Question 14

When registering a patient for outpatient or inpatient services, the office does not need to enter complete information prior to the encounter. It can be found out later.

Question 15

When a patient refuses to sign a receipt of the NOPP, the facility will ask the patient to leave since they cannot treat the patient without a signature.

Question 16

Administrative Simplification focuses on reducing the time it takes to submit health claims. The unique identifiers are part of this simplification.

Question 17

Faxing PHI is still permitted under HIPAA law.

Question 18

HIPAA law requires that using unique identifiers must

A) improve efficiency, effectiveness, and safety of the health care system.
B) be easy to remember so claims become much easier to submit.
C) be optional for use since there are so many health plans and health care providers.
D) be under the direction of each state's insurance commissioner.

Question 19

If a covered entity has disclosed some protected health information (PHI) in violation of HIPAA law, a patient can sue the covered entity for damages.

Question 20

All four parties on a health claim now have unique identifiers.

Question 21

Two of the reasons for patient identifiers are

A) it has been written as law by HIPAA and the government will be better able to oversee health care.
B) enhanced quality of care and coordination of medications to avoid adverse reactions.
C) pharmacies will be able to coordinate medications to avoid duplication and physicians can improve quality of care.
D) quality of emergency care will be improved and claims will be reimbursed faster.

Question 22

Which government department did Congress direct to write the HIPAA rule?

A) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
B) Office of Inspector General
C) Department of Health and Human Services
D) Office of HIPAA Standards

Question 23

Congress passed HIPAA to focus on four main areas of our health care system. They are to

A) ensure privacy of information, standardize claims, pay for changes, and maintain security of information.
B) keep electronic information secure, keep all information private, allow continuation of health coverage, and standardize the claims process.
C) protect patient records, secure computer systems, maintain logs of transactions, and identify all health care facilities.
D) reform health insurance claims, standardize methods of treatment, prevent computer disasters, and protect patient information.

Question 24

Medical identity theft is

A) stealing the insurance group identification number of a patient.
B) obtaining an individual's SSN from the Internet to use to gain their money.
C) taking the place of a patient in a hospital bed to receive treatment for your medical problem.
D) obtaining personal medical information for use in submitting false claims or seeking medical care or goods.

Question 25

Administrative Simplification means that all

A) health claims will be submitted on the same form.
B) facilities will be able to receive payment for all services they post on a bill.
C) health plans will adjudicate in favor of the health care provider every time.
D) office managers will not have to manage billing for services also.

Question 26

Questions other people have asked about HIPAA law can be found by searching FAQ at

A) American Medical Association Web site.
B) American Health Lawyers Association Web site.
C) Department of Health and Human Services Web site.
D) Health Level 7 Web site.

Question 27

Enforcement of the unique identifiers is under the direction of

A) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
B) Office for Civil Rights.
C) Office of HIPAA Standards.
D) Office of Inspector General.

Question 28

The Employer Identification Number (EIN) contains

A) nine digits and one letter.
B) no hyphen due to possible errors in optical character recognition (OCR) software.
C) both letters and digits in mixed arrangement.
D) two digits, a hyphen, then nine other digits without intelligence.

Question 29

Use of the EIN on a standard transaction is required

A) to verify an employee's participation in the group health plan.
B) when the sponsor of health plan is a self-insured employer.
C) to identify when an employee is enrolled or disenrolled in a health plan.
D) to identify the employer of a person covered under a health plan, when the employer is not the sponsor.

Question 30

Fraud and abuse investigation of HIPAA Privacy Rule is under the direction of

A) Office of HIPAA Standards.
B) Office of Inspector General.
C) Office of Interior.
D) Officer for Civil Rights.

Question 31

Health plan identifiers defined for HIPAA are

A) the IRS tax number.
B) the TIN (tax identifier number).
C) the same as they always have been.
D) not currently mandated as of 2008.

Question 32

Privacy of PHI includes

A) both medical and financial records of patients.
B) the current medical information of a patient on file for the past year.
C) only the medical history of patients.
D) only the financial record of patient payments for services.

Question 33

Which federal government office is responsible to investigate nonprivacy complaints about HIPAA law?

A) Office of E-Health Services and Standards.
B) Office of Inspector General.
C) Office for Civil Rights.
D) Department of Justice.

Question 34

Funding to pay for oversight and compliance to HIPAA law is provided by

A) local state taxes.
B) the federal income taxes.
C) monies received from government to pay for HIPAA services.
D) none of the above.

Question 35

Under HIPAA, members of the press can:

A) receive inside information when they ask for a patient by name.
B) receive the same information as any other person would when asking for a patient by name.
C) not receive any information about a patient.
D) call the head of the facility to find out PHI about a patient.

Question 36

When patients "opt-out" of the facility directory, it means

A) they will be discharged from the facility immediately.
B) their name will not be posted outside the room where they are located.
C) the facility will never reveal that they are being treated at the facility.
D) their name will not be disclosed on a published list of patients being treated at the facility.

Question 37

American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) has found that the problems of complying with HIPAA Privacy Rule are mainly those that

A) deal with finding the best codes to place on transactions.
B) account for the release of PHI.
C) have to do with finding good software programs for the facility.
D) relate to who is a Business Associate.

Question 38

When visiting a hospital, clergy members are

A) treated similarly to physicians and can view the patient medical record.
B) given a list of all patients in the facility.
C) receive a list of patients who have identified themselves as members of the same particular denomination.
D) not given any information due to the Privacy Rule.

Question 39

The source documents for original federal documents such as the Federal Register can be found at

A) Congressional Record Web site.
B) HIPAA Hotline Web site.
C) Office for Civil Rights Web site.
D) Government Printing Office Web site.

Question 40

In keeping with the "minimum necessary" policy, an office may leave

A) only the doctor's office phone number on voicemail.
B) the date, time, and doctor's name on voicemail.
C) nothing on voicemail.
D) only a message to call back since almost everyone has caller ID.

Question 41

Filing a complaint with the government about a violation of HIPAA is possible

A) only if you have retained a lawyer.
B) if you access the Web site to complete an official form.
C) only if you are a covered entity.
D) by contacting your state's insurance commissioner.

Question 42

Standardization of claims allows covered entities to

A) communicate efficiently and quickly, which saves time and money.
B) save the cost of new computer systems.
C) simplify the billing process since all claims fit the same format.
D) all of the above.
E) both A and C.

Question 43

What are the three covered entities that must comply with HIPAA? (Answer using lower case and singular definitions.)