No, not necessarily. HIPAA does not disallow sign-in logs, calling the patients’ names out in the waiting room, patient names on hospital doors, patient schedules posted in treatment areas, etc. HIPAA also does not require re-configuring treatment areas where more than one patient is treated at a time, such as orthodontic offices, therapy gyms, or semi-private hospital rooms. Many disclosures in these situations will be considered incidental. Good professional judgment should be used in all situations to ensure reasonable privacy to patients. Certain types of treatment, such as psychiatry, fertility treatment, etc., require an extra measure of privacy.
