Alaska warns personal care agencies they can lose Harmony access for viewing waiver records

Personal Care Agencies risk losing access to Alaska's Harmony database if they open waiver service records, the files of clients who get home care instead of facility care, the Division of Senior and Disabilities Services said Tuesday.

The e-alert says only Personal Care Agencies, Care Coordinators and Long Term Care Facilities are provisioned in Harmony; the division's Harmony page also lists Developmental Disability Resource Centers. Personal Care Agencies may access only consumers who receive Personal Care Services.

Opening the waiver records of a consumer who receives both "can result in a report to Centralized Reporting System and/or loss of access to Harmony database," the alert said. Centralized Reporting takes reports of harm to vulnerable adults.

Harmony is the state's secure system for administering programs and certifying providers, and SDS requires anyone seeking access to show working knowledge of protected health information and HIPAA rules.

The alert said the division is "not planning to provision other types of waiver providers" at this time.

The division directs questions to [email protected]; the state's Harmony page lists [email protected].