KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Does PERS provider need to follow HIPPA regulations / 3 days left to Contract Sale
January 7, 2026
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ONLY THREE MORE DAYS
DON'T WAIT UNTIL LAST MINUTE !!
K&K Contract sale 2026
K&K annual Contract sale 2026 through January 9, 2026
up to 40% off all contracts and forms
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THE SALE RUNS THROUGH JANUARY 9, 2026.
30% off all contracts and forms
Join the Concierge Program before you order contracts and get additional 10% discount.
Join here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge
Order contracts and forms here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-contract
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NOTICE:
The Standard Form Agreements have been updated for 2026. Check with our Contract Administrator, Eileen Wagda, at 516 747 6700 ext 312 to see if your forms need updating. Because of this year’s deep sale discount these contracts will not have free or discounted updates. The sale ends January 9, 2026; the sooner you order the sooner you will get the contracts. Please do not call requesting priority unless you are a Concierge Client or have paid for expedited service. Orders filled as received. Be patient please.
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How to order: order at www.alarmcontracts.com - ordering is easy - order on-line during the sale and save thousands of dollars. Need help ordering? Call our Contract Administrator Eileen Wagda at 516 747 6700 x 312 for assistance. Concierge Clients can call our Concierge Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq for assistance at 516 747 6700 x 304. Concierge Clients receive an additional 10% off the sale price. You can join the Concierge Program before ordering to receive the discount and you should take advantage of this program.
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Contract sale runs through January 9, 2026. This will definitely be the best deal of 2026. When you place the order the full price will come up. We will apply the discount manually when we process the order. Contracts will be delivered by email only. Just order what you need - we will check and apply the proper discounts.
THE CONTRACTS ARE UPDATED FOR 2026 AND STEEPLY DISCOUNTED ON THIS SALE. ORDER EARLY TO AVOID THE WAIT. ALL CONTRACTS ARE CUSTOMIZED AND STATE SPECIFIC.
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Does PERS provider need to follow HIPPA regulations
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Ken
Does a PERS provider need to follow HIPPA regulations?
I have always believed that they do not, unless they are associated with a health care provider. Which would include a hospital, doctors office, medical insurance company as examples.
Mark S. Fischer
Systems Support Specialists
mfischer@systemssupportspecialists.com
516-384-6064
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Response
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When providing medical alert is it common for the alarm company and the central station to have medical information regarding the subscriber to assist EMT responding to emergency situations involving health; life safety. If your subscriber is a health agency you will be asked to sign it's agreement which will include HIPAA compliance. Then you need to be sure you comply with HIPAA compliance.
The question is are you subject to HIPAA compliance and, more importantly what will that entail so that you are compliant. At first blush it most certainly requires strict confidentiality of medical information, not only in what is communicated but how it is stored. But record keeping is well beyond anything an alarm company is likely to be aware of or comply with unless it gets legal advice from which will require specifics such as what information is held, who, when and how it's communicated and how records are stored. So, in this informal article, not intended to be legal advice on HIPAA compliance, your take-away should be that you do need to be aware of the confidential nature of medical information and that you do have legal responsibilities that you do need to know about.
K&K does have a Health Care legal practice department, familiar with HIPAA and representing all levels of health care, from pers providers, to doctors to hospitals.
Before doing medical alert or PERS be sure to get the Kirschenbaum Contract TM for that service.
Here is a general response I got from K&K's health care attorneys:
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Does PERS provider need to follow HIPPA regulations?
Very likely, yes! Which is a tough answer to deliver because it comes with added compliance responsibilities. When an ancillary service provider (you) starts dealing with patient information for a “covered entity”, defined by the government under HIPAA as a medical provider, hospital or insurance company, there is an imputed responsibility for the ancillary service provider (PERS or medical alert provider, in this instance) to protect patient information as an extension of the “covered entity” client. The covered entity client may ask the PERS or medical alert provider to sign a “Business Associate Agreement” which will detail the obligations you will have to protect patient information. As a Business Associate, you would have an obligation to have certain protections in place – training, forms, encryption requirements, etc.
Now, knowing this, as a PERS or medical alert provider, you may want to get ahead of this issue and contractually disclaim any obligation to adhere to HIPAA – you may want to attempt to classify any information you receive as ancillary and non-medical in nature. We could explore that avenue since the role of the PERS or medical alert provider is not to assess or capture medical data, but really to make the connection between a client and a receiving provider.
Jennifer Kirschenbaum, Esq.
Managing Partner: Health Care, Labor and Employment Practice
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum, P.C.
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, New York 11530
(516) 747 - 6700 x. 302
www.kirschenbaumesq.com
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Memo to Jen
From Sarah
re PERS provider and HIPAA
Yes, you are correct. PERS and medical alert providers can be subject to HIPAA if they provide services for or on behalf of a covered entity (healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses) and create, receive, maintain, or transmit protected health information (PHI). 45 C.F.R. § 160.103. In that case, the provider is a Business Associate, and must sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
Under OCR guidance, there is an exception from the privacy rule for entities that act as “conduits,” for PHI. Conduits include entities which transport information, but do not access it other than at random or infrequent times. 78 Fed. Reg. 5566.
While the role of PERS and medical alert providers is to make a connection between a client a receiving provider, the conduit exception is limited to “transmission-only services for PHI,” where the access to PHI is “only transient in nature.” If the PERS or medical alert provider maintains the PHI for the purpose of storing it, it will qualify as a business associate and not a conduit, because the entity has more “persistent” access to the information. HHS HIPAA FAQs.
Sarah Masheyev, JD. awaiting admission to NY
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum, P.C.
200 Garden City Plaza, Suite 315
Garden City, New York 11530
(516) 747- 6700 (Ext. 308)
SMasheyev@Kirschenbaumesq.com
www.kirschenbaumesq.com
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STANDARD FORMS Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements
click here: www.alarmcontracts.com
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
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