Pharmacist and HIPAA

Is it a HIPAA violation if a pharmacist is asked the price of a medication on a company discount plan and the pharmacist just filled the exact prescription 15 minutes earlier for the same medication and quantity on the same discount plan and the pharmacist looks back at the previous prescription filled on the computer to give the current guest what the prescription may cost?

Answer:

No, and here is why: The pharmacist did not disclose any personally identifiable protected health information. The current guest did not learn who the previous patient was, his date of birth, his address, allergies, prescriber, insurance information, etc. That information is what could have lead to a HIPPA violation.

What is Protected Health Information? According to HIPPA, PHI is any medical/health information which can be connected to or identify an individual person. Without more information than just the price the patient paid on a company discount plan, there is no link to that original individual.

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