If a medical assistant looks at a patient's medical records are they breaching patient doctor confidentiality?

Answer 1

Actually patient-provider confidentiality is not breached if a medial assistant looks in a patients' chart. Medical assistant's are considered providers of healthcare also. It is reasonable to understand that the medical assistant and even the nurse will access your chart if their is a need to. Upon triage the medical assistant will triage and note their findings accordingly in your chart as required by law. The medical assistant may also need to access your chart for the purpose of obtaing an authorization for medication or even diagnostic procedures as ordered by a physician. It is required by law that you sign a "consent for treament" before medical services are provided. Contained within that consent it will clearly state "My doctor or designee". A medical assistant is a "designee" of the physician to perform these tasks. The Privacy Act of 1974 and the HIPAA Act of 1996 are the guidelines to live by in patient-provider confidentiality. Doctor-patient confidentiality means exactly that; anyone viewing the records besides the doctor or the patient without permission constitutes a breach. There are some exceptions but these tend to occur in a hospital setting, or a mental institution. Even then, other staff participating in treatment will typically keep their own records as necessary.