Don't let the "HIPAA"potamus crush you
I have to remind myself that the Health Information Protection and Privacy Act or HIPAA was enacted to protect the consumer. It was designed to protect the consumers medical records and allow accessibility to the records. In other words, the medical records freedom of information act for consumers. What it has become is a tool to hamper getting your records in a timely fashion in the guise of protecting your rights (law states it should take no longer than 30 days). Institutions have succeeded in making it cumbersome, unfriendly and slow to receive the requested records. The law states you need to fill out a form and that should be the end of it. But it never ends there. Some forms need notarizing while others can only be the institutions form. The bottom line is that HIPAA has now become a barrier to getting medical records. One of the problems is the law allows states to add onto the law in terms when the records have to be released and punishment for breaking HIPAA guidelines. Some states also have bent to strict guidelines on what can be withheld from consumers. For instance, in New York doctors comments can be held back.
It seems every day I get a call that involves obtaining medical records. I had a family who needed to transfer the father to another hospital for life saving treatment. The medical records were vital to coordinated care. The hospital in question was resisting constantly citing HIPAA as a reason for refusing. It was certainly beyond understanding why the records couldn't be obtained. A little known secret is all medical doctors, centers, hospitals, and business need to have a compliance office and point person. There also needs to be a state HIPAA office to deal with complaints. Always give the medical compliance office a call the minute records are refused or taking too long and insist on getting the records immediately. If that doesn't work, call the state offices. Nobody likes a call from the state especially about HIPAA. The message here is DON'T GIVE UP! Remember the records are rightfully yours to have within a timely fashion.
Posted by HealthCare Whisperer at 1/17/2010 2:55 PM 
Categories: doctors,HIPAA,hospitals,accessibility
Tags: medical doctors HIPAA hospitals
Categories: doctors,HIPAA,hospitals,accessibility
Tags: medical doctors HIPAA hospitals
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