PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to describe the protection provided to individuals who engage in good faith Disclosure of alleged wrongful conduct to appropriate agencies and/or authorities described and to identify what constitutes a permitted Disclosure in relation to whistleblowers under HIPAA. The Ohio State University College of Optometry is committed to protecting individuals from interference with making a Protected Disclosure and from Retaliation for having made a Protected Disclosure or for having refused an illegal order.
PROCEDURE DETAILS
- Individuals should share their questions, concerns, suggestions, or complaints with a College of Optometry administrator who can address them properly. In many cases the individual’s supervisor is in the best position to address an area of concern. Students, interns, or others without a direct supervisor should share complaints with the HIPAA Privacy Officer. If the individual is not comfortable speaking with the supervisor, or is not satisfied with the supervisor’s response, the Individual should take their concerns to the offices listed below that will investigate and/or address the concern as appropriate.
- Criminal matters – Department of Public Safety, 614-292-6677
- Employment matters – Office of Human Resources, 614-292-1050
- Legal matters – Legal Affairs, 614-292-0611;
- Healthcare matters – Office of Compliance and Integrity, 614-247-5833
- Academic matters involving faculty and/or students – Office of Academic Affairs, 614-292-5881
- Non-academic student conduct matters – Office of Student Life, Student Conduct, 614-292-0748
- All other matters – Internal Audit, 614-292-9680
- Supervisors who receive Protected Disclosures are required to contact the appropriate office listed above.
- An alternative method to report concerns specific to the following areas is to contact the University’s Anonymous Reporting Line via telephone at 1-866-294-9350 or click https://secure.ethicspoint.com/domain/media/en/gui/7689/index.html to access the anonymous system.
- Any Disclosures made by whistleblowers that meet the above criteria are not considered inappropriate and, therefore, deemed permitted under HIPAA.
- Any Disclosures made by whistleblowers that do not meet the above criteria will be deemed inappropriate, and breach notification policies and procedures will then be followed.
Full details of all privacy policies can be found at: I:\CLINIC\HIPAA\HIPAA Privacy Procedures and in the Clinic Resources folder on the clinic desktop.