My hellacious health care nightmare -- Obamacare has ruined me

[SheilaT]

174. It's not a violation of HIPAA

Last edited Tue Sep 29, 2015, 01:23 PM - Edit history (1)

for someone to link two pieces of information together, both provided by the poster.

It IS a violation of HIPAA if someone uses knowledge of a person's medical condition/treatment/whatever gained from that person's medical records, presence in a hospital or doctor's office and so on. Plus, I believe a person outside the medical system simply isn't violating HIPAA at all, no matter what they tell others.

So if I'm working the registration desk in a hospital(something I used to do) and I call up someone to tell her a mutual acquaintance has been admitted to the hospital, I'm violating HIPPA. If you go to the hospital to visit someone, and in the waiting area meet a friend who tells you someone else you both know is in the hospital, HIPAA is not violated because neither one of you works for the hospital.

A bit wordy, but I hope everyone here gets the idea. HIPAA is not a blanket of privacy cast over everyone's medical information, but applies specifically to those who work in a medical setting, and therefore are privy to such knowledge.