Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Discuss whether there has been a violation of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?

There are no court rulings that can shed light on the issue. However going by the given facts, it is as follows: "Dr. Williams shows Joan's medical records to a friend for advice. His friend tells Dr. Williams to contact his medical malpractice insurance carrier." The problem here is if the friend is also a medical practitioner, attorney or some person exempted under the act for disclosure. The issue is not clear. It is assumed that the friend is also a medical practitioner. In that case Williams can take a stand that there has been no violation of the act if the doctor passed on the information for consultation purposes, and this is very clear from section 45 CFR 160.103 according to which a business associate could be"...
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