Wednesday, November 12, 2003
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Wednesday, November 12, 2003 |
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City e-mail takes steps to respect worker privacy By J. FRANK LYNCH Electronic corrrespondence sent from city or county employees got a little wordier recently, as an effort is being made to comply with recently enforced federal privacy laws. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which originated in 1996 and was revised in 2002, became effective for compliance this year. Employers with over $5 million annually in employee medical premiums or claims, like the county government, had to comply by April 2003. Employers with medical premiums/claims under that amount, which includes Peachtree City, must comply by April 2004. Though the deadline for compliance was stiill a few months away, Peachtree City went ahead and made the required changes since the county was already going that route, said Betsy Tyler of the city’s public information office. “We are having a consultant assess our practices in handling employee medical information, and make recommendations for any needed changes so, that we will be in compliance by that time,” said Tyler. “It's why you are having to sign all the forms at the doctor's office these days.” The only thing noticeable to recepients is this disclaimer and warning about reading misdirected e-mail:“The information contained in this transmission is legally privileged and confidential information intended only for the use of the individual(s)named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient,you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please contact the sender immediately.” Tyler said funding for the consultant was included in the city’s 2004 fiscal budget.
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