HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Maintaining Confidentiality and


Privacy in the Business Office The basics of ensuring confidentiality across the school district. By Lynn Knight, CSRM, and Linda Mont, CSRM, RHU


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usiness office personnel create, work with, distribute, and store information about indi- viduals daily. Although specific regulations govern the handling and disclosure of some of


that information, overall, commonsense practices should be in place to ensure that the information is managed with integrity and purpose and always used, stored, and shared appropriately.


HIPAA Privacy Compliance


The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 includes many elements, but it is


30 APRIL 2022 | SCHOOL BUSINESS AFFAIRS


particularly recognized for its focus on ensuring the pri- vacy of individuals’ health information. As health plan sponsors, school districts are respon- sible for safeguarding employees’ protected health information (PHI) relative to the health plans. Those plans include all employer-sponsored group health plans, insured or self-funded, as well as medical, drug, dental, and vision coverage; flexible spending accounts; long- term care; health reimbursement arrangements; and possibly employee assistance programs, depending on the services.


It is important to note what plans are not considered health plans as they relate to HIPAA. The legislation


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