WEBVTT 00:00:00.780 --> 00:00:03.560 Clayton Vandiver, your light keeper here, once 00:00:03.560 --> 00:00:06.480 again from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, talking 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:11.480 to you about HIPAA Part 2. All of the things 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:13.960 that you need to know, hopefully, at least to 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:16.359 begin the conversation about protecting your 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:20.519 information, your private, unique medical information, 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:24.160 and how it might be compromised. This is a really 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:27.719 exciting episode coming up on today's Light Keepers 00:00:27.719 --> 00:01:00.770 Podcast. with us this week as always Charlene 00:01:00.770 --> 00:01:03.969 our licensed clinical social worker here to tell 00:01:03.969 --> 00:01:06.250 us more about HIPAA once again remind us what 00:01:06.250 --> 00:01:10.849 HIPAA means? What are those acronyms? So HIPAA 00:01:10.849 --> 00:01:13.769 stands for the Health Insurance Portability and 00:01:13.769 --> 00:01:15.709 Accountability Act. Only the government could 00:01:15.709 --> 00:01:17.909 come up with a title that long. That's amazing. 00:01:17.969 --> 00:01:20.969 It's so unnecessarily complicated. But basically 00:01:20.969 --> 00:01:25.409 what it boils down to is your unique information 00:01:25.409 --> 00:01:28.170 including your medical records, medical history, 00:01:28.329 --> 00:01:31.280 medications. Anything that can identify you as 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:34.040 an individual in conjunction with your medical 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:37.920 history is protected by federal law, which means 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:40.500 it cannot be shared with anyone without your 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:44.099 consent. Who all is concerned with HIPAA within 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:46.579 the medical community? Everybody should be concerned 00:01:46.579 --> 00:01:49.060 with HIPAA. Everybody should be concerned with 00:01:49.060 --> 00:01:53.060 HIPAA. But one of the common misunderstandings 00:01:53.060 --> 00:01:56.099 among individuals out there, the community at 00:01:56.099 --> 00:02:01.219 large, is that everyone is responsible for HIPAA 00:02:01.219 --> 00:02:03.519 protection, and that's not true. Not all facilities 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:07.040 are required to abide by HIPAA regulations. Correct. 00:02:07.599 --> 00:02:10.000 And forgive me if I keep looking down. I don't 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:12.860 want my notes to blow away. Well, we are in the 00:02:12.860 --> 00:02:15.639 middle of the Pacific Ocean. Yes. So a HIPAA 00:02:15.639 --> 00:02:19.319 -covered entity includes health plans, health 00:02:19.319 --> 00:02:22.580 care clearinghouses. And providers that conduct 00:02:22.580 --> 00:02:25.039 electronic transactions for which the Department 00:02:25.039 --> 00:02:27.620 of Health and Human Services has published standards. 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:32.500 That's the government definition of who is responsible 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:36.840 for maintaining HIPAA regulations and policy. 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:41.740 Now, who that applies to is any individual that 00:02:41.740 --> 00:02:43.680 walks in the door of one of those facilities. 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:50.300 Okay. And it doesn't matter if they're... a citizen 00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:54.340 of the united states even non -citizens their 00:02:54.340 --> 00:02:59.259 information is protected and and there are protections 00:02:59.259 --> 00:03:02.319 in place that people don't even realize for example 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:06.340 if we have someone come in from a crime scene 00:03:06.340 --> 00:03:10.280 and the police come in asking information we 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:14.400 can't give them information really really Really. 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:17.639 So the protection is that critical and that all 00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:19.479 -encompassing? Absolutely. They have to come 00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:22.120 back with a warrant. So with a warrant, you're 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:24.340 allowed to release... We are required. Required 00:03:24.340 --> 00:03:27.120 to release that information. And that's an important 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:31.020 detail. Details matter, especially in legal matters. 00:03:31.060 --> 00:03:33.500 That information has to be subpoenaed or they 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:35.580 have to come back with a warrant. And even then, 00:03:35.580 --> 00:03:37.939 we're only allowed to give the least amount of 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:41.240 information to satisfy their request. Okay, so 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:44.409 the least amount necessary to... provide them 00:03:44.409 --> 00:03:47.569 whatever it is that they need. Correct. Well, 00:03:47.689 --> 00:03:51.889 HIPAA appears to be a very sensible protection, 00:03:52.250 --> 00:03:56.030 but that leads us to wonder, why is it so important? 00:03:56.289 --> 00:03:58.870 Well, HIPAA is a double -edged sword because 00:03:58.870 --> 00:04:02.310 in the same way that it can protect, it can also 00:04:02.310 --> 00:04:09.349 make it more difficult. For example, using families, 00:04:09.469 --> 00:04:14.439 a couple. If you have a couple that works together 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:18.959 to manage each other's medical care, and the 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:21.360 wife tries to call the doctor's office to schedule 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:25.500 an appointment for the husband, she can't. Really? 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:30.740 She can't. Without them having a notice on his 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:33.540 chart that he has signed giving permission for 00:04:33.540 --> 00:04:37.310 them to speak with her, she can't. Even to just 00:04:37.310 --> 00:04:40.449 make an appointment. Even to just make an appointment. 00:04:40.449 --> 00:04:42.870 They can't even confirm or deny that he's a patient 00:04:42.870 --> 00:04:47.089 of theirs without that permission. Now, put the 00:04:47.089 --> 00:04:50.089 spin on that. People all the time say, and I 00:04:50.089 --> 00:04:52.269 know this happened because I've done it, when 00:04:52.269 --> 00:04:56.209 I was my mom's medical power of attorney. call 00:04:56.209 --> 00:04:59.029 up, identify myself. I am her medical power of 00:04:59.029 --> 00:05:00.990 attorney. They haven't seen a form. They haven't 00:05:00.990 --> 00:05:02.589 seen a document. A lot of times they don't even. 00:05:02.709 --> 00:05:05.589 And with that information, I can make an appointment. 00:05:05.730 --> 00:05:08.509 I shouldn't have been able to. Correct. Now you 00:05:08.509 --> 00:05:10.930 put the spin on that and say you have a woman 00:05:10.930 --> 00:05:14.990 who is in a situation of domestic violence. HIPAA 00:05:14.990 --> 00:05:17.689 is protecting her because now she can go to the 00:05:17.689 --> 00:05:20.350 doctor and she can confide in the doctor everything 00:05:20.350 --> 00:05:23.069 that's going on at home and he can't find out. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:25.379 That she's even been to the doctor. That she's 00:05:25.379 --> 00:05:27.139 even been to the doctor. And that's a very good 00:05:27.139 --> 00:05:29.899 thing. So you can see where it would be a double 00:05:29.899 --> 00:05:32.480 -edged sword. But the really interesting thing 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:36.160 about HIPAA is that HIPAA is violated every day, 00:05:36.220 --> 00:05:39.160 and people don't even realize it. And that's 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:42.540 really where I wanted to come with this particular 00:05:42.540 --> 00:05:47.600 show today, because people need to know. that 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.639 their HIPAA is being violated, when it's being 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:52.779 violated, and how they can protect themselves 00:05:52.779 --> 00:05:55.759 because something we're going to talk about later 00:05:55.759 --> 00:06:00.100 on in a next show or maybe the one after is medical 00:06:00.100 --> 00:06:03.379 identity theft, which a HIPAA violation can lead 00:06:03.379 --> 00:06:07.800 to, just like a violation of your financial information 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:11.319 can lead to identity theft and fraud. Release 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:15.160 of your medical information can result in medical 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:17.740 identity theft and medical fraud. We're going 00:06:17.740 --> 00:06:20.000 to talk about more details of what that means, 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:23.459 what that is, and how that happens. I've even 00:06:23.459 --> 00:06:27.100 got a great tidbit of information from a seminar 00:06:27.100 --> 00:06:30.279 that I attended many years ago from Medicare, 00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:34.120 the Department of Elder Affairs. And they investigated, 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:36.279 and it's just fascinating. We'll do that in another 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:40.339 show. but the violations are important to bring 00:06:40.339 --> 00:06:43.480 out because let me let me paint a scenario for 00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:46.899 you okay okay and i have had this happen to me 00:06:46.899 --> 00:06:49.839 personally before giving it any thought now i'm 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:52.139 looking back kicking myself going well that was 00:06:52.139 --> 00:06:56.459 stupid you go to the emergency room maybe for 00:06:56.459 --> 00:06:59.720 yourself or with a loved one okay their billing 00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:02.740 person comes into the room and reads off your 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:04.899 information to confirm that it's correct in the 00:07:04.899 --> 00:07:08.990 system That's common. It happens every day. If 00:07:08.990 --> 00:07:13.410 you are in an open area. Hallway. Sometimes they'll 00:07:13.410 --> 00:07:17.209 park you in a hallway waiting room. But just 00:07:17.209 --> 00:07:20.029 a curtain drawn around or maybe a room but with 00:07:20.029 --> 00:07:22.910 the door open. Or a shared room where you have 00:07:22.910 --> 00:07:24.730 someone else in there with you. That billing 00:07:24.730 --> 00:07:27.449 person has just violated your HIPAA information 00:07:27.449 --> 00:07:30.430 because anyone around you could have overheard 00:07:30.430 --> 00:07:34.420 that. Now, I wonder, and I'm sometimes considered 00:07:34.420 --> 00:07:37.819 a conspiracy theorist because I put forward thoughts 00:07:37.819 --> 00:07:41.379 that are plausible. That's what college professors 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:46.899 often do. But what if someone complained of stomach 00:07:46.899 --> 00:07:50.660 upset, went to the hospital, knowing that it 00:07:50.660 --> 00:07:53.160 was a very busy time in the emergency room, got 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:56.220 parked in a hallway where they had three or four 00:07:56.220 --> 00:08:01.720 emergency... areas available to them with nothing 00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:03.600 but a curtain between them and that information. 00:08:03.779 --> 00:08:06.319 And that information was being read back, read 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:09.620 back, read back, read back. And they're sitting 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:12.620 there with a smartphone recording every word 00:08:12.620 --> 00:08:15.459 that was said so that later they could play it 00:08:15.459 --> 00:08:19.339 back and have a lot of people, it's private, 00:08:19.459 --> 00:08:22.579 protected. Correct. And see, and that's a problem. 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:24.519 And I don't say that to give anybody an idea 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:28.149 of something to do. I'm giving it out as a plausible 00:08:28.149 --> 00:08:31.350 thought of something that could happen and for 00:08:31.350 --> 00:08:34.090 medical personnel to be on the watch for. Absolutely. 00:08:34.169 --> 00:08:37.809 It can happen and it does happen because the 00:08:37.809 --> 00:08:40.590 only thing that is needed for someone to steal 00:08:40.590 --> 00:08:44.350 your medical identity is your insurance information 00:08:44.350 --> 00:08:49.029 and an ID. That's it. Well, tell me what sort 00:08:49.029 --> 00:08:51.690 of things can be done with medical information 00:08:51.690 --> 00:08:56.200 when it is stolen. How serious is that? Well, 00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:58.259 I'll give you a really good example of this, 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:00.460 and this is something that I've seen firsthand. 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:05.000 I knew someone who he and his son had very similar 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:10.139 names, and the insurance company mixed up their 00:09:10.139 --> 00:09:14.940 dates of birth. So the son had dad's date of 00:09:14.940 --> 00:09:17.779 birth, dad had son's date of birth. Because of 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:21.899 that mix -up, the dad was not able to fill his 00:09:21.899 --> 00:09:25.139 prescriptions. Until the insurance company got 00:09:25.139 --> 00:09:28.700 it straight because he was not supposed to have, 00:09:28.820 --> 00:09:31.559 according to their records, those prescriptions. 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:34.240 And so they refused to fill them. Now, fortunately, 00:09:34.500 --> 00:09:36.620 there was nothing life -threatening there. That 00:09:36.620 --> 00:09:38.539 was the first thought I had. What if it's a life 00:09:38.539 --> 00:09:40.019 -threatening prescription? What if that had been 00:09:40.019 --> 00:09:43.720 an organ anti -rejection drug? Yeah. So what 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:48.350 they were told was the solution. Was to pay out 00:09:48.350 --> 00:09:51.389 of pocket. Okay. Oh my gosh. There are some medications 00:09:51.389 --> 00:09:53.950 that are five digits and that's without the decimal 00:09:53.950 --> 00:09:57.090 Yes, how are you gonna pay for that out of pocket? 00:09:57.210 --> 00:10:00.360 So you have no choice at that point But to go 00:10:00.360 --> 00:10:03.039 without it until the insurance company gets it 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:04.759 straightened out. And we all know how long that 00:10:04.759 --> 00:10:07.320 can take. Take out a mortgage on your home. You 00:10:07.320 --> 00:10:10.100 destroy your finances and hope that your insurance 00:10:10.100 --> 00:10:12.379 company will reimburse. And your finances are 00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:14.720 another vulnerability because someone who has 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:17.480 assumed your medical identity can receive treatment 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:21.580 and you get the bill for it. Or receive prescription 00:10:21.580 --> 00:10:24.700 drugs, sell them on the street and you get the 00:10:24.700 --> 00:10:27.379 bill for it and perhaps even become a suspect 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:32.029 for. Criminal activity. Correct. So there's a 00:10:32.029 --> 00:10:35.250 lot of risk there. And it's complicated and it's 00:10:35.250 --> 00:10:37.370 complex. And that's why people just need to be 00:10:37.370 --> 00:10:41.549 more aware. For example, going back to that scenario 00:10:41.549 --> 00:10:44.590 with the emergency room, if the billing person 00:10:44.590 --> 00:10:47.809 comes in and asks you for that information and 00:10:47.809 --> 00:10:51.110 you provide it, you have just implied consent. 00:10:52.330 --> 00:10:54.950 giving them permission with your HIPAA information. 00:10:55.210 --> 00:10:57.210 Let's talk about that a little bit more in the 00:10:57.210 --> 00:10:59.429 next episode because we're running out of time. 00:10:59.549 --> 00:11:01.769 Remember, the Light Keepers podcast is brought 00:11:01.769 --> 00:11:04.470 to you by a guiding light, a 501c3 nonprofit 00:11:04.470 --> 00:11:07.929 charity that needs your help and your support. 00:11:08.129 --> 00:11:10.870 If you're able to do so, we certainly welcome 00:11:10.870 --> 00:11:13.730 those donations. There's a way on the screen 00:11:13.730 --> 00:11:17.610 to actually capture that little QR code and send 00:11:17.610 --> 00:11:20.470 in a donation. Also, please like, subscribe. 00:11:21.340 --> 00:11:23.559 Click the little bell that tells you we put up 00:11:23.559 --> 00:11:25.820 another episode so you don't miss a single episode 00:11:25.820 --> 00:11:29.379 of this great, important information. But again, 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:32.720 it starts a conversation. Your specific, unique 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:36.019 medical needs need to be talked over with your 00:11:36.019 --> 00:11:40.059 own unique physician who knows you and what your 00:11:40.059 --> 00:11:43.320 needs are. But this show is designed to start 00:11:43.320 --> 00:11:45.899 a conversation and get that information there 00:11:45.899 --> 00:11:49.110 so you know the right questions to ask. and hopefully 00:11:49.110 --> 00:11:51.830 you get the best answers to live the best possible 00:11:51.830 --> 00:11:54.789 life. That's why we're here on the Light Keepers 00:11:54.789 --> 00:11:57.929 podcast every Wednesday evening at 7 p .m. And 00:11:57.929 --> 00:12:01.250 from the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I'm Clayton 00:12:01.250 --> 00:12:03.889 Vandiver, your Light Keeper. See you next time.