HIPPA?????

What do you understand about this?

I assumed (dumb of me, that it protected patients rights to privacy) I think I am wrong.

If so how does one protect their medical privacy?

I am the health proxy to my mother who is in a nursing home in Massachusetts. They freely answer questions about her state of mind and health to STEP-cousins. They also agree to fax (to one of my step cousins who just happens to be a director of another nursing home) a copy of medications that she is on. Is this acceptable and what can I do about it if this is not acceptable?

I am getting the crash course on HIPPA and it seems it does not provide protection for the patient.

Any help would be appreciated. I have to meet with nursing home staff on Monday.

One other question... How did they slip this law right by most citizens?????

I have to run out now and will check back later. Thanks in advance.

I work for a company that requires us to be quite conversant in HIPAA and believe me, we take it VERY seriously. This is a VERY good law that protects your privacy a lot more than most people realize. It is regularly strengthened too as technology changes.

What they are doing is not acceptable and you should consider hiring a lawyer who specializes in health related law, or consider moving your mother to another location.

The clinic where our doctor is seems to be very adverse to letting us write down our children on the consent form. All they want is one person we want them to talk, and we have 5 children scattered around the country.

Their form has spaces for 4 people we DON"T want them to talk to, and one space for someone we DO want them to talk to.

When I asked specifically why we could not list all our children, they simply said read the form. Then I asked again, and they said can you read the form? Very insultingly.

I said yes, I could manage to read it with my college degree and over 30 years of teaching...and I said can I add our other children. They said read the form.

Who's out of line here? They want it updated every 6 months or they will not talk to my husband if I am ill or vice versa. Yet, they don't remind us. They don't tell us. They don't send out info.

My doctor refuses to answer, saying it is the clinic's job.

Of course you should be able to put down more than one person. I have both my parents as emergency contacts with my doctor's office (since my parents are divorced and I'm not married).

Also at my doctor's offices it seems that at the beginning of January each year they just start over with a new form for everyone. Maybe that's just me, but I don't see my doctor often, maybe once or twice a year, so it seems like I'm always filling one out. :)

That's what said. It's pretty big. We had a wonderful doctor who retired, and there were few places to go. Doctors are good, just getting past the desk...

I was so mad the first time we went I was ready to walk out, but we needed to have a doctor.

lots to read here

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/

sue the living shit out of them. They shouldn't be in business if they're doing what you describe.

Since WHEN?

I was deathly ill in May and the doctor was away. Her secretary called me on the phone and said, "Well these guys around think they have figured out what is wrong with you. You have hemolytic uremia." I told her I did not know what that was and she advised me to "google it". Instead, being sick, I went back to bed. The next day I googled it alright and holy sh*t! It is basically a DEATH sentence!!!

I called my insurance co. who has a 24/7 nurse you can talk to and was advised to call the office and speak to the emergency on-call physician. I did this and was told that if I had this problem, my blood work #'s would be "all over the page" which they are not.

Needless to say, I do not have "hemolytic uremia" as if I did I'd likely be dead by now.

I called the doctor's office to complain. They balked. I haven't heard a word from the "secretary" since if she still works there.

That scared the freakin' sh*t out of me. I seriously thought I was going to die.

I was advised that some "laws had be broken". Which laws I asked. No one would tell me. :wtf: :mad:

Please advise IF YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW.

Thank you!!

:kick:

sounds like that secretary was awful and she screwed up big time. i'm sorry you went through all that, but unless she told you the name of a different patient, there's no law broken.

still, that's messed up.

I actually went to a priest and asked that a RIP mass be said for me and I was ready to call my attorney to draw up a will!

As I stated, I haven't heard from the secretary again and as a former employee in the health care industry (pre-HIPPA) I would have had my ASS fired in a second if I had EVER done anything like this! :grr: again ...

Still alive here anyway like it or not.

:eyes:

:kick:

the doctor at the ER was no better - he was screaming that I have CANCER CANCER CANCER. I found some papers in the backseat of my car the other day. It said I was supposed to get a CAT scan of my kidneys and it was to have been signed by the doctor at the ER and myself. This did not happen. They just handed me these papers and I left!

I don't have CANCER CANCER CANCER either thank god. I lost two members of my immediate family to cancer one year apart (my mom first; younger brother the following year).

I'll tell you, it is taking a lot for me to go anywhere near these "doctors" these days.

I have health problems yes. However, the problems are not fatal luckily.

Sheesh is all I can say right now after this last episode. The ER bill was $900.00+ btw.

:dem:

ugh. hang in there.

:rofl:

they can't tell your work mates, or leave a message with them to tell you. That was not a HIPPA problem. I am not sure what law might have been broken, or if one was, telling you wrong info and leaving you with "google it". I'd check and see if she was still there, write a letter directly to your doctor, not the clinic. Good luck.

I'll bookmark this thread and pursue this later. I'm still paying the bills for this sh*t btw and I have not "cooled off" any yet either. That is a very bad sign with me. It likely means that I WILL DO SOMETHING about this.

Reason: What IF they had told this to someone that was seriously depressed and sick and they had a nice cache of drugs to off themselves with? Maybe they would have. Death via complete organ failure (hemolytic uremia = eventual complete organ failure/kidney dialysis scenario it seems) can't be at all pleasant I would think and might be enough to make the wrong person commit suicide!

If I do something, it won't be for ME, it will be for YOU and everyone else out there.

This was grotesque and horrific. I swear to god, I'd never thought I was going to die before. Luckily I handled the "news" by being dutifully thoughtful (priest first; lawyer second ... duh ...).

I am a health care provider and a patient and they are wrong in a couple ways. HPPA is meant to protect patient privacy. A provider can ONLY give info about a patient (including the fact of whether or not they are a patient) to the patient only and the people the patient designates, as well as those legally allowed such (Power of Attorney, insurance company to bill). They are not allowed to talk with other providers, family, public, though once you go into a facility the ability to communicate extends to everyone working there with the patient. Medical records must be secured in a place that no one can get to them except those legally allowed by law. Providers can not leave messages on answering machines or with other people if they call you about anything (lab results or even an appointment reminder) unless you have given them permission. Nothing about you can be shared with other health care people or public or family unless you have given express approval or it is allowed by law (Power Of Attorney or guardian of minor child).

I think that asking questions to family and friends who visit a person in a nursing home is ok, passing on info to them may not be, depending upon what, whom and why. FAXing private info such as med list without patient or guardian's approval is a violation I believe.

This law has been in place for several yrs, anyone who has seen any sort of health care provider (pharmacist, doctor, dentist, etc) has had to have been notified and sign a statement saying they were notified of privacy stuff. Used to be that info was given out freely, so this was passed to try to slow down private stuff. I knew nurses in a clinic that would look up friend's new boy/girl friends in charts to gather info about them to share with the person thinking of getting involved. It used to be very open, so this law was passed.

In my opinion it is a bit much, needs modification. Depending upon their willingness to break HPPA, I can not find out if my 19 yr old offspring is in a hospital or not, UNLESS said offspring wrote and designated that I can be given such info. Or the ER. And offspring is ok with it, but until becomes conscious enough to write it, nope. Unless the people in the ER know me and tell me. In which case they may be breaking the law, and subject to a $1000 fine.

It can get really silly. For instance, what if 3 doctors share the same facility and patient (who you see depends on who is available). Can they share info? (yes, it was modified to do so I believe). I walk into the clinic and see someone else waiting to see the doctor. It is a (pick something) urology clinic. Now I know that that other person has a urology problem, has HPPA been broken? Do we each need a totally private entrance to maintain privacy? (no, although some privacy has been lost, others can see you are there and guess why, it is the risk you take by going to that clinic).

Having a parent in a nursing home is also just plain hard, best wishes to you and everyone involved.

The intent is not just to protect your privacy as a patient, it prevents your employer, a future employer, insurance companies, anyone you don't approve of to know your medical information.

For example, if you've been treated for cancer and recovered and are applying for a new job, your employer can't get the information about your past medical history. Before HIPAA, this information was easy for them to obtain, and many did.

That said, there are still cases where people don't follow the law and should be reported to the proper authorities (check your local health department).

As I wrote, I had friends looking up other people's med info about prospective girl/boy friends. Employers, insurance co, ex's, etc. It is a good and useful law, though still not perfect.

AND now you can see your medical record without a lot of hoohaw (I have had problems in the past with this "you won't understand what is there, we can't show you" "darn you all, I'm a nurse, I WRITE this stuff and deal with it all the time at work, show me!" "we need a week to get it ready" "BS, give it to me now, no time to change, delete, remove anything. As I said, I deal with writing and reading med records all the time, I know what is there")

uppity? moi?

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/consumer_rights.pdf

the penalties are tough for those who violate HIPAA. Its sad, but not surprising that nursing homes would be lax in this area. They must not be providing people with the proper training.

The Nursing Home needs to be FINED. Money talks- and their attitude can cost them big bucks- and they SHOULD be fined- that is undoubatedly the only thing that will wake them up to their responsibilities to their patients. They are making money off these patients and as such they are obligated to protect their privacy just like the rest of the medical community must. The law has serious teeth.

Since you are the health proxy, make sure they have a copy of the power of attorney for medical decisions in her chart. If they don't have one, send them a notarized copy.

If you don't want anyone else to get information on your mother's care, then tell them that. If they break the confidence once more, threaten to sue. If they do it twice, sue.

The law is on your side in this case as long as you've got the paperwork to back you up.

The step cousins can ask you for information if they are that curious.

I would contact them at once and make sure they understand that you understand they're not supposed to be giving out this kind of info.

Report it and they will be fired and the nursing home fined. Hippa protects rights to privacy. If you are health proxy they can not discuss anything health related with anyone else but you.

talk to the cousins about her private health issues?

If not then there is a problem. HIPAA http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/bkgrnd.html