HIPAA Oral Privacy Solutions
An Ailment Facing All Healthcare Providers
All Healthcare providers must battle a common ailment: the lack of speech privacy in their facilities. In health care, many transactions involving the discussion of personal health information take place at pharmacy counters, reception areas, admission desks, nurses' stations, consultation areas, physician offices and waiting rooms. To protect the privacy of these conversations, this ailment needs a cure.
HIPAA requires medical professionals to safeguard medical records by all reasonable means and that new legislation fines for breaches. Few practices knowingly transmit patients’ medical files, but many unintentionally do just that as a result of sound leaks via the facility itself.
HIPAA Oral Speech Privacy Compliance with regulation [(164.530(c)(2)] of the Heath Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of the Federal Register’s Department of Health and Human Services final ruling on Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information states that:
“Protected Health Information includes individually identifiable information in any form, including information that is transmitted ORALLY, or in written or electronic form. This Privacy Ruling
requires that covered health care entities make reasonable efforts to limit the use or disclosure of protected health information to the minimum
necessary.”
Measuring the Articulation Index of a Room
Speech Privacy must be measured. Centerline Audio Visual Co. has the ability to measure the intelligibility of speech privacy set forth by American Society of Testing and Materials by measuring the Articulation Index of a room. Note: Speech privacy is achieved when the measured Articulation Index (AI) is less than .20'.
Sound Masking
Sound masking is a soft ambient sound (white noise) introduced into a room, which resembles the sound of air-conditioning. Within this sound, we calibrate multiple frequencies that contour human speech. The end result is a soft sound that masks human speech, and other related offices noises
Sound Absorption
Acoustical treatments may be used to absorb or block sound energy transmission between different rooms and spaces. A proper choice in acoustical treatments will help lower the level of speech energy transmission and thus ensure speech privacy in each area it is used.
Cost of the Treatment:
Speech privacy problems can be treated without major expense or reconstruction to existing structures. In terms of initial installation and long term costs, it’s a permanent speech privacy solution for your existing facility. Once it’s cured, it stays cured!