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Can You Keep A Secret?
HIPAA Privacy and You
HIPAA-lite
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
HIPAA.
HIPAA who?
Sorry, I’m not allowed to disclose that information.
Hopefully by now everyone knows that was a joke. In the past year, HIPAA arrived
in full force and there has been an endless stream of mix-ups and confusion
reported in the media. Everyone I know seems to have a tale of HIPAA humor.
So for those of you lucky enough to be reading this on a beach somewhere, we
presents some of the HIPAA bloops and blunders which have reached my ears in
the past year. Fortunately, none of these tales originated here at Yale.
Will
you take a paw print?
Starting April 14, 2003, everyone knew that
they had to hand out their Notice of Privacy Practices, including pharmacies.
There were several reports of people being asked to sign an acknowledgement
of receipt of the NOPP when collecting prescriptions for their pets. While
we recognize that many pets are part of the family, Spot’s health information is not protected by HIPAA (but
perhaps there is a lobbyist somewhere …)
Fear of Sharing.
Unfortunately, not all HIPAA confusion was
so harmless and some reports show the serious complications that can arise
from misunderstanding the regulation. Numerous newspaper articles reported
on individuals unable to locate family members admitted to hospitals in emergency
situations. HIPAA specifically allows for notification of family members and
for sharing PHI with those involved in the patient’s care, based on a
clinician’s professional judgment.
There were also reported delays in care as a result of fear that any sharing
of PHI would be seen as a HIPAA violation. Legitimate needs for patient care
trumps HIPAA every time.
What’s in a name?
Perhaps the most ironic aspect of
the Privacy Rule is that it falls under the heading of “administrative
simplification.” For those of us
who are now handling more paperwork, more forms, and more confusion, let us
remember that according to the legislature this all constitutes a simplification
and HIPAA does not actually stand for Huge Increase in Paperwork and Aggravation
Act. In fact, we need to remember that the privacy provisions are actually
just one small portion of the regulation. While we have focused on protecting
patient information over the past year, the larger bill may well help to streamline
the nation’s health care system.
The take home message is that if something doesn’t sound quite right,
it may not be right. When in doubt, check with the Privacy Office at http://www.hipaa.yale.edu/ ,
436-3650, hipaa@yale.edu
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