5 Examples of The Minimum Necessary Standard

The Minimum Necessary Standard is part of the HIPAA Privacy Rule that refers to the sharing of private health information, also known as PHI. This portion of the law refers to only accessing or using PHI for appropriate business or medical purposes, to the least amount necessary.
You see, if someone shares the information for any reason other than the treatment of the patient and your job, the actions are a violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
So what kind of situations would violate the Minimum Necessary Standards?
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Story one: Family intervention
No matter what type of doctor or nurse you might be, you are not allowed to access the private health information of a family member.
But what if this patient is your mother-in-law who is getting a tumor removed? What if the patient is your ex-husband’s wife who came in for a pregnancy checkup?
None of that matters. If the patient doesn’t explicitly say you have permission to know, you are not allowed to go into their digital records.
Story two: IT Chaos
Your hospital might have regular cybersecurity checks to see if there was any unusual activity. The IT guy is on the computers checking to see if there is any spyware, keystroke logging, or other forms of malware.
This particular day, the IT guy was checking a computer with stored protected health information. He clicks on a few files and looks at the patient records.
Harmless right? Wrong.
The IT guy does not require access to a patient's medical history to complete his job. If he accesses the medical information without the express permission of the patient, his actions are a violation of HIPAA.
Story 3: Backseat Driving
Pretend you are a surgeon at a local hospital. Let’s say that a nurse stopped you and the patient in the hallway on your way to surgery. In the middle of the conversation, the nurse tells you to make sure you wear gloves because the patient has hepatitis C.
You already know to wear gloves. It is surgery after all. You received permission to view all the medical records to perform a successful surgery, so you already know all of the information about the patient.
How is this a violation of the Minimum Necessary Standard?
The nurse decided to share this information with you in the middle of the hallway where other doctors, staff, and patients could potentially hear the information. The patient files a complaint since people may know his health information without his permission.
Story 4: Stardom
Pretend you and your best friend work for a gynecologist. One day, your friend tells you all about how the quarterback of your favorite football team came in with his girlfriend. She confides in you that the girlfriend is pregnant! You had no idea the quarterback was dating anybody let alone about to become a father. You and your best friend gossip about the situation throughout the entire lunch break.
Consider HIPAA violated. You didn’t need to know the information. You did not treat the patient and were not given permission to view the files. Gossiping is one of the easiest ways to violate the Minimum Necessary Standard.
Story 5: Database errors
A physician assigned to a patient needs to know about all of the medical records, especially those related to the situation at hand. But what if there was a mixup? What if there was some private information mixed in the records that are not related to medical information?
Someone could have sent you the wrong file. Or, the file could contain information like the patient’s social security number, billing address, and financial information. The physician doesn’t need to know all this. It is completely unnecessary and the situation violated Minimum Necessary Standard.
The Minimum Necessary Standard is a complicated matter. Who absolutely needs to know the private health information? What type of information should you include and what information should you not include?
If the wrong information goes to the wrong person, it can lead to a HIPAA violation. This can mean a hefty fine at best and potential jail time at the worst.
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[@mbrown4520]

I’m in school and this is helpful. Thank you

[@applebtz3779]

Thank you!!! Finally this makes sense