"Is it a hipaa violation for an organization to have a non-medical individual pick up medications for a patient within that organization without the patients knowledge?"

As long as no medical information was exchanged, I don't see the problem. Our drug store delivers meds every day to individuals; which is basically the situation you are descrbing. I don't see a violation.

Tick

"without the patient's knowledge" concerns me a little bit from a moral standpoint. Did the pick-up person look inside the bag to see what meds they were?

Is this a question from an assignment?

Why is the question in quotes?

I see no violation here - Pharmacies have runners. That's not a violation.

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Originally Posted by JudyKayTee

Why is the question in quotes?

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I suspect the OP has quoted from an assignment worksheet.

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I see no violation here - Pharmacies have runners. That's not a violation.

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The part that hit me was "an organization to have a non-medical individual pick up medications." That doesn't sound like a pharmacy delivery person; it sounds like the company sent someone to pick up the meds from the pharmacy, unbeknownst to the employee whose script it was. The OP would have to return and explain to all of us what is meant.

I realized it wasn't pharmacy personnel. I was referring to someone outside the circle (patient, Physician, Pharmacist) picking up/dropping off the medication.

And, yes, it sounds like homework to me.

It is still an employee of someone that has the duty or responsibility to get the medication to the patient.

So form a service working for the drug store, to an employee of a facility where the patient stays.