WEBVTT 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:03.319 Hi, and welcome back to the Light Keepers Podcast. 00:00:03.779 --> 00:00:05.960 I'm Clayton Vandiver, your Light Keeper, and 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:08.460 we're bringing this episode to you from the middle 00:00:08.460 --> 00:00:12.400 of the Pacific Ocean in the 50th state, Hawaii. 00:00:13.740 --> 00:00:16.019 We're here all week to bring you some interesting 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:19.800 information and some more great topics to get 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:22.539 you thinking about living life a little better. 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:25.300 Quality of life is what this show is all about. 00:00:25.660 --> 00:00:28.530 So stay with us. for some interesting topics 00:00:28.530 --> 00:00:32.829 and some fantastic scenery in Hawaii on the Light 00:00:32.829 --> 00:01:05.129 Keepers Podcast. So once again, welcome back 00:01:05.129 --> 00:01:07.769 to the Light Keepers podcast. I'm Clayton Vandiver, 00:01:07.849 --> 00:01:12.370 your Light Keeper. Today, our topic is HIPAA. 00:01:13.049 --> 00:01:15.329 And again, we're in the middle of the Pacific 00:01:15.329 --> 00:01:18.349 Ocean. Just because we're out here, we didn't 00:01:18.349 --> 00:01:20.530 want to leave you without content. So we're recording 00:01:20.530 --> 00:01:23.489 a show. We want to make sure that we have fresh 00:01:23.489 --> 00:01:26.750 information for you, no matter where we are on 00:01:26.750 --> 00:01:29.469 the planet. And it's sort of a fun backdrop to 00:01:29.469 --> 00:01:34.640 have old... 1400 miles of Pacific Ocean before 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:37.379 you find the next land. We've been to Hawaii, 00:01:37.620 --> 00:01:41.000 the most isolated place on the globe, which has 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:44.939 2400 miles from the California coast, 4000 miles 00:01:44.939 --> 00:01:48.120 from the Japanese coast. It is literally in the 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:51.939 middle of the most isolated patch on the planet 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:54.620 Earth. So that's kind of an interesting thing. 00:01:54.739 --> 00:01:56.700 It has ensured that the culture, the beautiful 00:01:56.700 --> 00:01:58.859 culture, the beautiful people and the beautiful 00:01:58.859 --> 00:02:02.079 scenery is intact for the most part right there 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:05.540 in hawaii it's a wonderful place to visit and 00:02:05.540 --> 00:02:08.039 today we bring you the light keepers podcast 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:13.659 about hipaa my first question uh charlene our 00:02:13.659 --> 00:02:17.840 licensed clinical social worker what is hipaa 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:23.659 hipaa stands for the health insurance portability 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:28.759 and accountability act and Basically, what that 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:33.319 means is that your personal health information 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:37.620 is now protected by law. That information cannot 00:02:37.620 --> 00:02:41.120 be disclosed without your authorization and consent. 00:02:42.020 --> 00:02:46.840 Okay. What sort of information is that? So that 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:49.759 pertains specifically to personal health information, 00:02:49.960 --> 00:02:53.319 which you'll hear referred to frequently as PHI. 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:58.370 PHI. You'll hear that in doctor's offices, written 00:02:58.370 --> 00:03:01.870 material, PHI, PHI, PHI. PHI is personal health 00:03:01.870 --> 00:03:03.469 information. Talk about PHI, they're talking 00:03:03.469 --> 00:03:05.310 about personal health information. Correct. That's 00:03:05.310 --> 00:03:08.129 the data that specifically HIPAA is concerned 00:03:08.129 --> 00:03:11.789 with. Correct. So HIPAA focuses on any information 00:03:11.789 --> 00:03:15.030 that can be tracked back to a specific individual. 00:03:15.830 --> 00:03:19.150 For example, someone's name, date of birth, address, 00:03:19.550 --> 00:03:22.289 phone number, medical records, prescriptions. 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:25.580 Things like that. If it can be tracked back to 00:03:25.580 --> 00:03:28.800 a specific individual, it is HIPAA protected. 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:32.060 So if it identifies that individual in any way, 00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:34.500 pretty much. Correct. Then that's protected and 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:37.240 that's HIPAA. Well, when does HIPAA take effect? 00:03:37.620 --> 00:03:40.360 So HIPAA takes effect the moment you are recognized 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:44.020 as a living individual. Oh, okay. So from birth. 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:45.599 So all people are protected by HIPAA. All people 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:50.500 are protected. And it does not end. Just because 00:03:50.500 --> 00:03:53.460 someone dies does not mean their HIPAA protection 00:03:53.460 --> 00:04:01.479 has gone away. A former employer, the department 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:03.620 I worked in, we used to receive thank you cards 00:04:03.620 --> 00:04:07.340 from family members. And there was a member of 00:04:07.340 --> 00:04:09.379 the team that would always put them out on display 00:04:09.379 --> 00:04:11.520 at the nurse's station and then would get aggravated 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:13.259 when I would come behind them and take them down. 00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:16.759 Well, the challenge was because a lot of these 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:20.029 cards were signed. by the family first and last 00:04:20.029 --> 00:04:23.290 name, it was a violation of their HIPAA to have 00:04:23.290 --> 00:04:26.730 those cards out in public. Of course, because 00:04:26.730 --> 00:04:29.089 then that first and last name, any other guest, 00:04:29.189 --> 00:04:32.540 any other visitor to the facility. Correct. Exactly. 00:04:33.639 --> 00:04:37.139 And so in order to protect that HIPAA information, 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:40.660 I would take the cards down. Sometimes I would 00:04:40.660 --> 00:04:43.339 white out the last name or I would tape over 00:04:43.339 --> 00:04:46.279 the last name if it was possible. That way, you 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:48.480 know, we could still display the card, but that 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:50.899 person was given their privacy. Just out of curiosity, 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:53.879 at a facility like that, does the security guard 00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:57.160 at the front desk, are they allowed to tell just 00:04:57.160 --> 00:05:00.480 anybody that walks in, hey, is so -and -so here? 00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:03.769 no absolutely not so if they're not allowed to 00:05:03.769 --> 00:05:06.430 then why would cards with their name being displayed 00:05:06.430 --> 00:05:09.750 on them exactly appropriate to be in exactly 00:05:09.750 --> 00:05:12.129 standard standard protocol at the front desk 00:05:12.129 --> 00:05:14.629 is you had to know the name of the person that 00:05:14.629 --> 00:05:17.649 you were visiting and you could not ask as such 00:05:17.649 --> 00:05:20.050 and such here because the standard response is 00:05:20.050 --> 00:05:22.149 i can neither confirm nor deny that that individual 00:05:22.149 --> 00:05:25.699 is here well then To the layman like myself, 00:05:25.860 --> 00:05:29.040 that sounds like a double standard. I'm not criticizing 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:31.920 any particular facility, but if you're going 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:35.120 to keep someone's HIPAA rights protected at one 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:38.959 gate, you would have to, by law, I would assume, 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:40.959 keep them protected throughout the facility. 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:42.959 Well, and the thing is, is that's the whole point 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:46.079 of this podcast, because there is so much ignorance 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.699 out there. about HIPAA information, what is protected, 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:52.180 what isn't protected, where it's protected. There 00:05:52.180 --> 00:05:54.100 are a lot of opportunities for both facilities, 00:05:54.259 --> 00:05:57.420 personnel, and individuals to better protect 00:05:57.420 --> 00:05:59.459 their privacy. Exactly. And see, and the thing 00:05:59.459 --> 00:06:02.279 is, is, you know, a lot of medical professionals 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:05.500 don't have a clear understanding of HIPAA. And 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:07.600 if the medical professionals don't have a clear 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:10.170 understanding... How can we possibly expect the 00:06:10.170 --> 00:06:11.990 common individual to have that understanding? 00:06:12.209 --> 00:06:14.970 Or for the facilities to develop policies and 00:06:14.970 --> 00:06:17.490 protocols that are appropriate and do protect 00:06:17.490 --> 00:06:22.089 HIPAA. Now, is HIPAA actually, does anyone come 00:06:22.089 --> 00:06:25.370 around and check to see that HIPAA is being observed 00:06:25.370 --> 00:06:29.110 in these facilities? So there are policies and 00:06:29.110 --> 00:06:31.649 protocol in place. There are HIPAA policies. 00:06:31.670 --> 00:06:34.370 So I know, for example, as a medical professional, 00:06:34.709 --> 00:06:40.160 I am required. to take a compliance course each 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:44.120 and every year to certify that I am aware of 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:46.459 HIPAA, I'm aware of the regulations, and I know 00:06:46.459 --> 00:06:48.860 how to protect that personal information. Is 00:06:48.860 --> 00:06:51.420 that specific to social workers? No. To licensed 00:06:51.420 --> 00:06:54.339 clinical social workers? No, that is applicable 00:06:54.339 --> 00:06:56.639 to anyone that works. So most medical personnel 00:06:56.639 --> 00:06:57.980 would have to take that sort of information? 00:06:57.980 --> 00:07:00.600 Absolutely, absolutely. Does that include doctors? 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:06.000 Yes. Doctors, nurses, case managers, social workers, 00:07:06.420 --> 00:07:11.560 HIPAA protection. Protecting someone's HIPAA 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:13.579 information is the responsibility of everyone 00:07:13.579 --> 00:07:17.259 in the facility. Absolutely, all the time. Absolutely. 00:07:17.259 --> 00:07:19.680 And even family members, because we're going 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:23.279 to be talking in an upcoming podcast about privacy. 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:27.139 And your expectation of it, especially when you're 00:07:27.139 --> 00:07:31.699 in a facility, a medical environment, where you 00:07:31.699 --> 00:07:35.079 might not have as much privacy or you might inadvertently 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:38.800 be revealing some information that HIPAA would 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:41.819 otherwise protect and how you can safeguard it. 00:07:41.860 --> 00:07:43.139 But that's coming up. We don't have time for 00:07:43.139 --> 00:07:45.620 that in today's. We've got to wrap this up shortly. 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:48.439 And that is something that we do need to talk 00:07:48.439 --> 00:07:51.079 about because, again, there is so much ignorance 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:54.529 out there about it. A lot of people's HIPAA -protected 00:07:54.529 --> 00:07:57.550 information, their HIPAA protection is violated 00:07:57.550 --> 00:08:00.550 every day, and they don't even know it. And there 00:08:00.550 --> 00:08:03.209 are dangers associated with that that we're going 00:08:03.209 --> 00:08:04.209 to talk about in the future. We're going to talk 00:08:04.209 --> 00:08:07.050 about more later. But those dangers include, 00:08:07.569 --> 00:08:11.470 we all know there's a lot of data breach. We 00:08:11.470 --> 00:08:15.769 worry about people stealing our data online and 00:08:15.769 --> 00:08:19.290 large masses of data from financial institutions 00:08:19.290 --> 00:08:22.660 that sometimes is compromised. Well, that happens 00:08:22.660 --> 00:08:25.300 in the medical community as well. Correct. It's 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:31.220 called medical identity theft. And in 2022, there 00:08:31.220 --> 00:08:35.120 were over 27 ,000 reported cases in 2022 alone. 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:37.500 We're going to talk more about that in an upcoming 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:40.399 episode and very, very shortly. I believe it 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:42.379 might be in our next episode. We'll get into 00:08:42.379 --> 00:08:45.919 that. So stay tuned. Stay with us. Lots of good 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:48.419 information that we bring you each and every 00:08:48.419 --> 00:08:51.159 week. right here on the Light Keepers Podcast. 00:08:51.419 --> 00:08:53.720 The Light Keepers Podcast is an exclusive production 00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:57.419 of a Guiding Light Incorporated, a 501c3 nonprofit 00:08:57.419 --> 00:09:02.139 charity that is definitely involved in making 00:09:02.139 --> 00:09:05.460 sure you can live your very best life possible 00:09:05.460 --> 00:09:08.960 with the very best information possible. That's 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:11.600 what we're all about. And stay with us, spread 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:15.129 the word, subscribe, like. Click that bell to 00:09:15.129 --> 00:09:17.889 be notified when we put another episode online 00:09:17.889 --> 00:09:20.649 and stay with us. Please spread the word. Tell 00:09:20.649 --> 00:09:22.750 everyone you know that there's good information 00:09:22.750 --> 00:09:25.389 to be had and you can live a better life if you 00:09:25.389 --> 00:09:28.490 know it. For right now, I'm Clayton Vandiver 00:09:28.490 --> 00:09:31.929 in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I'm your 00:09:31.929 --> 00:09:33.730 light keeper. We'll see you next time.