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Straight
Track #165
New Patient Privacy Rules:
What Do The New Federal Health Privacy Regulations Mean For Railroaders and Their FamiliesSteven
P. Garmisa
Hoey & Farina Attorney
1-888-425-1212
New federal healthcare privacy regulations went into effect on April 14, 2003. |
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The long and complex regulations, called the
"Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act", were passed by Congress to help protect a patient's right to access their personal health information and to keep it private and secure.
"But what do the new rules have to do with railroading, and why are you making it a subject of Straight
Track?" you ask.
After a preliminary review of these new rules, one item immediately emerged as very important to railroaders. A new requirement concerns
"Facility Directories," which is a hospital's list of patient information, including their room and the
patient's condition. The list is used mainly for responding to phone calls from friends and family. As the summary of the new regulations explains, a covered health care facility when possible must obtain
"informal permission" from a patient to disclose information about the patient's
"general condition" to anyone asking for the patient by name. Specifically, the official explanation states:
"Informal permission may be obtained by asking the individual outright, or by circumstances
that clearly give the individual the opportunity to agree, acquiesce, or object. Where the individual is incapacitated, in an emergency situation, or not available, covered entities generally may make such uses and disclosures, if in the exercise of their professional judgment, the use or disclosure is determined to be in the best interests of the individual.
"Facility Directories: It is a common practice in many health care facilities, such as hospitals, to maintain a directory of patient contact information. A covered health care provider may rely on an individual's informal permission to list in its facility directory the individual's name, general condition, religious affiliation, and location in the provider's facility. The provider may then disclose the individual's condition and location in the facility to anyone asking for the individual by name, and also may disclose religious affiliation to clergy. Members of the clergy are not required to ask for the individual by name when inquiring about patient religious
affiliation."
The text of the new regulations expressly provides that -- even when informal permission is given by the patient to include the patient in the
"Facilities Directory" -- any information provided about the patient’s condition must be
"described in general terms that does not communicate specific medical information about the
individual."
Additionally, the new regulations require a covered health care facility or hospital
"to provide the individual with the opportunity to restrict or prohibit some or all of the uses or disclosures permitted [by the section on a
'Facilities Directory']."
So, again, you ask, "Why is this important news to
railroaders?"
If an injured railroad employee is taken to a hospital emergency room and is conscious, under the new rules the hospital staff must ask for permission to list the injured railroader’s name and information in a hospital directory.
The injured railroader can
"restrict or prohibit" disclosure of this information, including specifically prohibiting the hospital from providing any information to railroad supervisors, managers or claims personnel.
And, when the hospital asks for permission to list a new patient in its
"patient directory," this gives injured railroaders an opportunity to state that they do not want to be visited or interviewed by railroad supervisors, managers or claims personnel.
While the new rules are aimed at controlling disclosure of health care information (not on limiting who can ask to visit a patient), the new regulations may make hospitals more responsive and sensitive to requests to keep railroad supervisors, managers and claims personnel away from injured railroaders.
In this way, the new rules may help prevent situations where railroads overreach by taking undue advantage of employees shortly after they are injured, such as interrogating workers under the influence of morphine, and susceptible to unfair manipulation, as many railroader union officers have witnessed in the past.
Theses new rules can be used to protect your personal health information if you are injured at work and are treated at a hospital.
Hoey & Farina, your designated legal counsel, will continue to provide you with information about what the new federal health privacy laws mean for railroaders. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about this new law or your rights under the Federal
Employers' Liability Act.
L I N K S
For more information about privacy rules in the "Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act" that went into effect April 14, 2003 visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Web site,
www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa.
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