§164.522(b)(1) Standard: Confidential communications requirements.
(i) A covered health care provider must permit individuals to request and must accommodate reasonable requests by individuals to receive communications of protected health information from the covered health care provider by alternative means or at alternative locations.
(ii) A health plan must permit individuals to request and must accommodate reasonable requests by individuals to receive communications of protected health information from the health plan by alternative means or at alternative locations, if the individual clearly states that the disclosure of all or part of that information could endanger the individual.
Audit Inquiry
Does the covered entity have policies and procedures in place to permit individuals to request alternative means or alternative locations to receive communications of PHI consistent with the established performance criterion? Does the covered entity have policies and procedures in place to accommodate such requests consistent with the established performance criterion?
Obtain and review policies and procedures describing how an individual may request to receive communications of PHI by alternative means and at alternative locations. Obtain and review documentation of sample requests and the covered entity response.