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| Medical Non-Privacy: Are records getting faxed to random people? | | Print | |
| Written by Joe Ducey | |
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Getting unwanted faxes is one thing. But what if these faxes contained personal medical information about someone else. It doesn't happen to all of us, but it did happen to Susan Peacock of Phoenix. The most recent fax she received showed a man's complete medical records, including his conditions like diabetes and tobacco addiction. "I'm receiving faxes that don't belong to me," Susan said. Everything from illnesses to treatment plans, it's all right here before her eyes. Susan says she consistently gets private medical records faxed to her business involving different people. She takes pictures of people for a living, and doesn't examine their health. But she says the medical facility doesn't seem to care. "They say oh, we'll take care of it," she told ABC15. Health advocate John Metz with Justhealthnow.org says it's a federal HIPPA violation. But he also says it's a small example of a much larger privacy problem. Metz says the HIPPA "privacy rule" is really a "disclosure rule" that authorizes more than 4,000,000 entities to use and disclose an individual's health information. This disclosure is without the individual's consent and over their objections. Susan just wants it to stop and says she'd be furious if they were her records. We contacted the company which called it a mistake and said it wouldn't happen again. We'll be watching. Contact Information
To contact U.S. Senator John McCain, click here For more information about your privacy right and abuses, click here John Metz comments about the state of patient privacy in AmericaClick here to contact John Metz The problem with private health information being faxed to the wrong person is one small manifestation of a much larger problem – the lack of enforceable and enforced laws that protect the privacy of the health information of anyone in America. The good news is that the cases of faxing private health information to the wrong person that you mention are, almost certainly, violations of the federal HIPAA regulations and/or stricter state laws. That’s the end of the good news. And now for the bad news … Americans have no Federal statutory right to health privacy today. Even the very weak and limited protections that do exist in the federal HIPAA regulations are not enforced. Despite more than 17,000 complaints as of the beginning of 2007, enforcement actions under the federal HIPAA “Privacy Rule”, which went into effect in April 2003, have produced virtually no significant penalties. The chances of having any meaningful penalty imposed for a violation of this Rule appears to be somewhat less than being struck by lightening. In fact, the HIPAA “Privacy Rule” is really a “Disclosure Rule” that authorizes more than 4,000,000 entities to use and disclose an individual’s health information. This disclosure is without the individual’s consent and over their objections. Companies can now do virtually whatever they want with this sensitive information once consumers provide their information, including selling it in “Secondary” markets. In fact, “Secondary” uses of our health records, which have nothing to do with improving our health, have become the primary uses of our health records. As for the stricter state privacy protection rules - trying to enforce them is more of the bad news ... For almost every person who has been the victim of the faxes gone wrong (even if, against all odds, they somehow discovered that their information had been sent to total strangers) the cost, effort and uncertainty of fixing the problem for themselves or others, with almost no chance of getting compensated for the time, effort and expense they would have to expend - would make attempting it an exercise in financial masochism. And, now, for the really ugly news … As we speak, the private sector, communities, states and federal agencies are racing to build Electronic Health Records systems without adequate privacy protections. Congress has fallen far behind in protecting Americans’ right to health privacy. We hear about violations and abuses of privacy and of records almost weekly.[1] Current laws do not adequately protect electronic health records, leaving the marketplace for “personal health records” and other products the “gold rush” of Health IT. Uncorrected, this can lead to the crippling of our healthcare system. When patients do not trust doctors or the health care system to protect their privacy, they withhold information, they delay or avoid care, and they become sicker. One in 8 Americans admit to putting their health at risk by engaging in privacy-protective behavior such as:
- Paying privately for a test - Avoiding tests altogether[2] Without control and trust, patients will not see physicians or use the health care system in an effective manner. Wary healthcare consumers will drive up costs and increase the danger to others. Further, the data collected and stored will be incomplete and filled with inaccuracies and omissions. Without Congressional input or oversight, a national electronic health records system will be built that will destroy privacy, and more importantly Americans’ trust in their health care system. All this bad news will get worse if "we" do not act to prevent it - now. |
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