HIPPA/FAXING/PMShift

[Lapreea]

So, I have two questions that I hope a fellow nurse could answer for me. I am a new graduate and just started work within the last week.

Things to take into account:

I start my shift at 1500, and I dont usually start med pass until 1600, and I usually deal with faxes around 1800 (so past office hours)

My two questions are

1. faxing the pharmacy, do I need to call before hand, or do we just fax (I assume it depends if it is internal pharmacy or external?)

2. Can I fax documents after office hours without calling before hand, or should I ALWAYS call to ensure someone will be there to receive the document?

[Kallie3006, ADN]

What is your employer's policy on this?

[klone, MSN, RN]

HIPAA laws do not address it specifically, except to say that you should make sure it's a dedicated fax in a secure location (which I would assume it is) and that it was received by the intended audience.

Facility policy should prevail.

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

And make sure you use a fax cover sheet that has a disclaimer statement on it--i.e., "This is fax is intended for the person named above. Destroy it if you are not this person and received this fax in error."

[verene, MSN]

These are things to clarify at work based on their policies, as well as those of the pharmacy / clinics you need to interface with on a regular basis. Where I work I send the pharmacy and lab faxes all the time after/before hours with out issues and rarely call along with the fax. BUT this is per my facility policy and the policies of the pharmacy and lab we work with. Your place of employment may differ.

I agree with the above poster who recommends using a cover sheet with disclaimer language - your facility likely already has one available.

[amoLucia]

Many HC provider offices are faxed documents also after hours just like the pharmacy. The same precautions should apply, however anything that requires a REAL HUMAN to review should be phone-alerted. Leaving a critical value in someone's inbasket at 8pm does not constitute 'timely notice'.

It is possible to fax in error - I have received documents meant for others. I'm a nice person; I call the fax-er and I shred the errant documents.

It annoys the hell out of me because it usually uses up all the ink in my printer cartridge!

[LovingLife123]

I worked for a pharmacy that only did LTC facilities back in the day. This was pre everything being sent electronically. All we did was faxes. The room where faxes were received was completely separate from where orders were filled. We rarely got cover sheets. Only received one if it was a new admit to the facility. The script itself had to have the patient name, birthdate, and facility.

Data entry put in the new scripts, a pharmacist checked that entry, it was then released to the floor for filling, and a final check was done by another pharmacist, before being packed up.

These facilities are secure. They were all our patients and we had access to their medication records.

Pharmacies are a little different from hospitals where you can only have access to the chart of the pt for whom you are caring for. They are all your patients and you are always in their medication records when you are filling.

I hope that makes sense.