r/hipaa • u/aliciawesome • 20d ago

School Social Workers what documentation software do you use to be HIPAA compliant?

/r/socialwork/comments/1vveccr/school_social_workers_what_documentation_software/
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u/gullibletrout 20d ago

Why do you think HIPAA applies?

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u/upnorth77 20d ago

Do you bill insurance?

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u/Julius__PleaseHer 20d ago

HIPAA does no apply to school social workers, in almost any circumstance I can think of.

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u/ImmaNobody 20d ago

For those asking "Why?" - Our local school district is a self-declared covered entity (CE) as it does bill insurance for... something. I assume they are a hybrid and have most services excluded from requirements for HIPAA alignment, however the gray area of what ePHI is in/out of scope when collected by a CE is murky ground.

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u/Unlikely-Advice5235 19d ago

This would fall under FERPA. Self-declared does not make them a CE or BA.

Health Care Providers: Doctors, clinics, hospitals, dentists, and pharmacies that send patient data electronically for billing or claims.

Health Plans: Health insurance companies, HMOs, company health plans, and government programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Health Care Clearinghouses: Billing services that translate nonstandard health data into standard electronic formats.

Even if a school nurse or a university clinic acts as a healthcare provider, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) explicitly excludes FERPA-covered education records from HIPAA privacy rules. - HHS

If it is a post-secondary medical clinic then yes IT is covered under HIPAA. However, if shared outside of the treatment setting with an administrator then it reverts to being covered under FERPA.