HIPAA & Records Management

HIPAA Compliance

The Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“Privacy Rule”) established a set of national standards for the protection of certain health information. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued the Privacy Rule to implement the requirements of HIPAA. The HIPAA Privacy Rule protects all “individually identifiable health information” held or transmitted by a covered entity or its business associate, in any form or media, whether electronic, paper, or oral. The Privacy Rule calls this information “protected health information” (“PHI”). The City of Brookville’s Fire Department is a covered entity and, as a result, has specific obligations as required by the HIPAA Privacy Rule. This policy establishes the requirements and best practices for the Brookville Fire Department’s personnel to follow to ensure Privacy Rule compliance.

Records Management

The Brookville Fire Chief’s Office is responsible for managing all fire and emergency medical services reports while ensuring that all reports released are in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act as well as HIPAA guidelines, and confidentiality policies. Records management is broken down into the following categories:

EMS Reports

EMS reports or Patient Care Reports (PCR) contain information, which is often required by various laws to maintain Protected Health Information (PHI) in a private and/or confidential manner. Should you wish to access PCR or information on a PCR you must:

• Submit a written letter of request for a record to the Fire Chief’s Office. All requests to access PHI maintained by the Brookville Fire Department must be reduced to writing.

• Anyone asking to access PHI maintained by the Brookville Fire Department shall be prepared and able to verify their identity. This is usually achieved by presenting us with photo identification.

o A parent/guardian may pick up a report for their minor child when presenting us with a birth certificate (of a child), court paperwork that names you the minor child's guardian, and a picture ID (parent/guardian).

o Legal representatives seeking PHI should include a "release of medical information" form signed by the patient.

Fire Reports

Fire reports are public informational reports completed for each and every response. Should you wish to access a fire report you must:

• Submit a written letter of request for a record to the Fire Chief’s Office. All requests to access PHI maintained by the Brookville Fire Department must be reduced to writing.

• Fire reports are public records, and anyone can request a fire report apart from an associated casualty report - this is subject to the same criteria as an EMS report or a fire report that is involved in a criminal investigation.

• Fire reports will be provided as soon as the investigation has been completed and recorded.

• To expedite your request, you should be ready to present and/or provide the following information:

o Address/location of incident you are inquiring about

o Date of incident

o Photo Identification

Records are not always immediately accessible. The Brookville Fire Department strives to provide information within a reasonable period of time. Mail requests should be expected to take 7 to 10 days.