HIPAA Privacy Complaints Policy Template

The HIPAA Privacy Complaints Policy Template is designed to help Covered Entities and Business Associates comply with the rules and regulations set out by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The policy provides methods and procedures that assure proper handling of, and response to, all complaints received. It ensures that those responsible for compliance take action to achieve the required level of security for patient data.

The template provides a framework for organizations to process privacy complaints in a timely manner, including how they are taken by the designated contact person and how they will be responded to. It also includes easy-to-edit sections so that each organization can tailor it to their business’s exact HIPAA requirements. Furthermore, auditable records are made available in case an external inquiry is initiated related to any complaint.

SAMPLE TEXT: ENTITY NAME has adopted this Privacy Complaints Policy in order to recognize the requirement to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act of 2009 (Title XIII of division A and Title IV of division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act “ARRA”) and the HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule (Effective Date: March 26, 2013). We acknowledge that full compliance with the HIPAA Final Rule is required by or before September 23, 2013.

ENTITY NAME hereby acknowledges our duty and responsibility to protect the privacy and security of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“IIHI”) generally, and Protected Health Information (“PHI”) as defined in the HIPAA Regulations, under the regulations implementing HIPAA, other federal and state laws protecting the confidentiality of personal information, and under principles of general and professional ethics. We also acknowledge our duty and responsibility to support and facilitate the timely and unimpeded flow of health information for lawful and appropriate purposes.

Each of our HIPAA templates are in Microsoft Word (.docx) format for easy editing. Each template is guaranteed to be fully HIPAA & HITECH compliant when properly implemented.