WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.279 Once again, I'm Clayton Vandiver, your light 00:00:02.279 --> 00:00:04.179 keeper, out here in the middle of the Pacific 00:00:04.179 --> 00:00:08.220 Ocean, where the ocean is wide and the information 00:00:08.220 --> 00:00:11.580 we have for you is deep and profound. How's that 00:00:11.580 --> 00:00:38.439 for an opening? That's pretty good. With me as 00:00:38.439 --> 00:00:40.600 always, Charlene, our licensed clinical social 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:43.000 worker with lots of great information for you. 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:47.799 Today we're going to be recapping HIPAA and medical 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:51.479 health information, health protection, protected 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:54.219 health information. You can see I'm obviously 00:00:54.219 --> 00:00:57.119 just an innocent bystander here. She's the real 00:00:57.119 --> 00:00:59.939 profession. So we've spent the last few episodes 00:00:59.939 --> 00:01:04.609 talking about the importance of HIPAA. and HIPAA 00:01:04.609 --> 00:01:07.069 protecting that protected health information, 00:01:07.269 --> 00:01:11.430 that PHI, and what can happen if it isn't protected. 00:01:11.750 --> 00:01:15.730 And today's show is really just taking all of 00:01:15.730 --> 00:01:18.129 those different shows, summarizing everything 00:01:18.129 --> 00:01:20.769 and making it a nice, you know, neat little bundle 00:01:20.769 --> 00:01:23.849 with a bow on top to just, you know, give that 00:01:23.849 --> 00:01:27.010 information, just a summary recap so people can 00:01:27.010 --> 00:01:30.370 know moving forward just how important this is. 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:32.980 A little package of protected health information. 00:01:32.980 --> 00:01:38.260 Exactly. So, once again, what does HIPAA represent? 00:01:38.500 --> 00:01:42.939 What is its overall... So, HIPAA, we don't need 00:01:42.939 --> 00:01:45.099 to get into the acronym again because it's way 00:01:45.099 --> 00:01:48.099 too long, but basically what HIPAA is, is it's 00:01:48.099 --> 00:01:52.379 the federal law that protects our personally 00:01:52.379 --> 00:01:55.799 identifiable information. Any information that 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:58.700 can... that can identify you as an individual. 00:01:59.340 --> 00:02:02.200 Your name, date of birth, address, telephone 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:05.780 number, medical records, prescription history, 00:02:06.019 --> 00:02:09.039 all of that. That is all HIPAA protected information. 00:02:09.539 --> 00:02:13.759 Yes, anytime you check in to most medical facilities, 00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:16.680 you sign a sheet, it's your HIPAA release that 00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:20.000 you allow them to receive information from other 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:23.370 medical facilities about you. that allows them 00:02:23.370 --> 00:02:26.270 to provide information to a designated family 00:02:26.270 --> 00:02:29.169 member or caregiver. Correct. So they'll have 00:02:29.169 --> 00:02:32.550 that sheet for you. But generally, the person 00:02:32.550 --> 00:02:34.710 who's having to sign it is the person who's sick 00:02:34.710 --> 00:02:38.349 or injured and not the person who is willing 00:02:38.349 --> 00:02:41.189 to read all the fine print and know exactly what 00:02:41.189 --> 00:02:43.370 it's all about. And that's why we're here to 00:02:43.370 --> 00:02:46.550 help you. I'm going to be honest. I have... I've 00:02:46.550 --> 00:02:49.849 never read that form. I have done the admissions 00:02:49.849 --> 00:02:56.280 for... and I have been in the room when the billing 00:02:56.280 --> 00:02:58.599 person comes in with that huge stack of papers 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:00.639 and says, here, sign here, here, here, here, 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:04.479 here. I wouldn't take time to read that. But 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:06.659 there's a lot of important information in there 00:03:06.659 --> 00:03:09.580 that people aren't aware that they're signing 00:03:09.580 --> 00:03:14.180 off on. Like, for example, the right to dispute 00:03:14.180 --> 00:03:17.580 a discharge from the hospital if they have Medicare. 00:03:17.719 --> 00:03:19.819 But we'll cover that at a later time. That's 00:03:19.819 --> 00:03:22.830 a topic for another show. But I appreciate that. 00:03:22.849 --> 00:03:24.889 That's a good topic. Yeah, people don't even 00:03:24.889 --> 00:03:26.729 realize that they're signing off acknowledging 00:03:26.729 --> 00:03:29.250 that they've been told that, that they have that 00:03:29.250 --> 00:03:31.030 right, because they're just going through signing. 00:03:31.189 --> 00:03:33.430 They're not paying attention. And when it comes 00:03:33.430 --> 00:03:36.590 to your personal information, especially your 00:03:36.590 --> 00:03:38.849 personal health information, there's so much 00:03:38.849 --> 00:03:41.710 at risk. Because if that information gets out 00:03:41.710 --> 00:03:44.810 and is used nefariously by someone looking to 00:03:44.810 --> 00:03:47.469 do harm, maybe not to you specifically, but just 00:03:47.469 --> 00:03:50.449 to their own benefit. You're looking at the risk 00:03:50.449 --> 00:03:54.830 of financial liability. You're going to get bills 00:03:54.830 --> 00:03:57.930 for treatment that you didn't receive. You could 00:03:57.930 --> 00:03:59.889 get a hit on your credit report if that bill 00:03:59.889 --> 00:04:02.979 goes to collections. And you might not receive 00:04:02.979 --> 00:04:04.919 your medical care that you need. It can interfere 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:07.580 with your ability to get treatment, your ability 00:04:07.580 --> 00:04:10.120 to get your own medications. Because we all know 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:12.500 if your pharmacist thinks you've already received 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:14.699 that medication, your insurance is not going 00:04:14.699 --> 00:04:15.560 to cover it. They're not going to pay for it 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:17.620 twice. No. They're not going to provide it to 00:04:17.620 --> 00:04:19.079 you a second time. No, the insurance will not 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:22.060 cover it. And one of the examples that we gave 00:04:22.060 --> 00:04:24.779 in an earlier show is, you know, I know someone 00:04:24.779 --> 00:04:28.339 who has a son with a very similar name. And the 00:04:28.339 --> 00:04:31.180 insurance company mistakenly got their birthdays 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:34.379 mixed up. And because of that, the father was 00:04:34.379 --> 00:04:38.060 not able to get his medications because, according 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:40.660 to the insurance company, he wasn't supposed 00:04:40.660 --> 00:04:43.079 to be getting them. Yeah, he was the wrong person. 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:45.199 He was the wrong person. So that's an example 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:48.319 of your HIPAA -protected information is only 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:51.920 as good as it is maintained intact, integrity, 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:56.189 the correctness of it. And that's why it's important 00:04:56.189 --> 00:04:58.470 for people, and this is pretty much... Critical 00:04:58.470 --> 00:05:01.829 errors can always happen. Exactly. And so these 00:05:01.829 --> 00:05:04.110 were the suggestions that we gave in the previous 00:05:04.110 --> 00:05:07.550 shows that are so important. First of all, first 00:05:07.550 --> 00:05:11.329 of all, if you are in a medical facility and 00:05:11.329 --> 00:05:13.990 they are wanting to verify your information, 00:05:14.269 --> 00:05:17.670 do not let them speak it out loud. If they ask 00:05:17.670 --> 00:05:21.149 for it, tell them that that is your... protected 00:05:21.149 --> 00:05:23.009 health information and you will be more than 00:05:23.009 --> 00:05:25.709 happy to provide it in writing. How would they 00:05:25.709 --> 00:05:28.970 be verifying it that would be a bad HIPAA virus? 00:05:28.970 --> 00:05:31.389 So for example if you're in the emergency room 00:05:31.389 --> 00:05:35.250 or if you're in the hospital and there are people 00:05:35.250 --> 00:05:37.589 around you that are not with you say for example 00:05:37.589 --> 00:05:39.829 if the emergency room is packed and they've got 00:05:39.829 --> 00:05:42.970 you on a gurney in the hallway and a billing 00:05:42.970 --> 00:05:45.290 person comes up to you and says I just need to 00:05:45.290 --> 00:05:47.350 verify this is your name this is your date of 00:05:47.350 --> 00:05:49.939 birth and this is your address. This is your 00:05:49.939 --> 00:05:51.920 insurance information. They've just given away 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:53.899 all that information to anyone who can hear it. 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:57.360 They have just grossly violated your HIPAA. And 00:05:57.360 --> 00:05:59.139 even if you're in the little bay in an emergency 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:01.139 room... If there's nothing but a curtain around 00:06:01.139 --> 00:06:04.420 you, still a HIPAA violation. The audio can pass 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:07.360 through that. Now, even if you're in a private 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:10.639 room... If the door is open. If the door is open. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:13.779 or there's another party if it's a shared room. 00:06:14.019 --> 00:06:16.199 Correct. And we were going to talk about how 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:18.879 can people in a shared room... Different episode. 00:06:19.139 --> 00:06:20.939 Oh, that's a whole other episode. That's a whole 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:22.079 other... I didn't know if there was that much 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:24.519 material for that. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.240 well, imagine, let's set that up. You're in a 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:29.920 room in the hospital. There's someone else in 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:33.139 that room also in another bed. There's maybe 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:36.100 a curtain in between you, maybe not. And some 00:06:36.100 --> 00:06:38.120 of their family members are in there. Some of 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:41.069 your family members are in there. Medical personnel 00:06:41.069 --> 00:06:43.490 are talking about HIPAA -protected information. 00:06:44.149 --> 00:06:49.829 Do you have privacy? Not really. Is that a HIPAA 00:06:49.829 --> 00:06:52.490 violation? Or if you have a loved one in a nursing 00:06:52.490 --> 00:06:56.550 home, that is a shared room. That's a very common 00:06:56.550 --> 00:07:00.410 situation. In hospitals, there hasn't been really 00:07:00.410 --> 00:07:02.790 an issue with shared rooms outside of the emergency 00:07:02.790 --> 00:07:06.519 room since the beginning of COVID. However, that 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:09.800 may start to change now that the worst of COVID 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:12.480 is behind us. But in nursing homes, that's still 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:16.180 very much a thing. You're going to have, unless 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:18.220 you are paying for a private room, you're going 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:20.560 to have at least one, sometimes two or three 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:23.180 other individuals in the room with you. And that 00:07:23.180 --> 00:07:25.100 makes HIPAA a very difficult thing to do. It 00:07:25.100 --> 00:07:28.980 makes HIPAA impossible. And that's a very important 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:31.860 question we are going to discuss in a future 00:07:31.860 --> 00:07:35.930 episode is... Well, do you actually have any 00:07:35.930 --> 00:07:40.029 privacy? And is that actually a legal situation? 00:07:40.689 --> 00:07:43.949 But the point is, if you're in an emergency room 00:07:43.949 --> 00:07:46.189 or in a hospital or if you're in any medical 00:07:46.189 --> 00:07:48.649 facility and they ask you for your information, 00:07:48.870 --> 00:07:50.889 don't just blurt it out if there are other people 00:07:50.889 --> 00:07:53.350 around you. If there's no privacy, don't just 00:07:53.350 --> 00:07:55.629 blurt it out. So you can write it down. Tell 00:07:55.629 --> 00:07:58.910 them, this is protected information. I don't 00:07:58.910 --> 00:08:01.050 want it shared. Let me provide that to you in 00:08:01.050 --> 00:08:03.699 writing. And again, if the person is injured 00:08:03.699 --> 00:08:07.879 or not fully conscious, they're not going to 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:11.600 be cognizant of doing that. And that's why it's 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:14.860 important to have someone with you if you go 00:08:14.860 --> 00:08:19.300 to the hospital. And even there, even there, 00:08:19.459 --> 00:08:23.860 there are potential HIPAA violations. And here's 00:08:23.860 --> 00:08:26.819 a wonderful example. I had to go to the emergency 00:08:26.819 --> 00:08:31.019 room. You took me. They verified all of my information 00:08:31.019 --> 00:08:33.580 with you standing right there without confirming 00:08:33.580 --> 00:08:35.799 that I wanted you to hear that. They didn't find 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:38.200 out who I was until afterwards. You could have 00:08:38.200 --> 00:08:39.779 been my next -door neighbor. They wouldn't have 00:08:39.779 --> 00:08:45.519 known. I recall whoever it was doing that actually 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:47.500 looked at me after they'd done all of that, and 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:48.919 I'll never forget, they looked at me and said, 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:51.700 oh, I probably should have asked you first, are 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:54.240 you the husband? Yeah, are you family? And I 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:56.779 looked at her, and I think I remember saying, 00:08:57.480 --> 00:08:59.980 You probably should have asked that first. I 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:04.399 do happen to be. Yeah, you hope so. But that's 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:10.000 a perfect example. And when I was working in 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:15.059 the ICU, I was always so very careful because 00:09:15.059 --> 00:09:18.509 HIPAA violations are a big deal. Or at least 00:09:18.509 --> 00:09:20.750 they are to me. Maybe it's because I'm very protective 00:09:20.750 --> 00:09:22.730 of my own information. And I think the social 00:09:22.730 --> 00:09:24.690 worker who's concerned with that information 00:09:24.690 --> 00:09:28.389 is going to be more aware, more focused on it 00:09:28.389 --> 00:09:31.740 than the nurse whose focus is... let's get the 00:09:31.740 --> 00:09:34.340 help, let's get the medical, let's get things 00:09:34.340 --> 00:09:36.740 done in a very timely manner. And I know there 00:09:36.740 --> 00:09:39.940 were times where I would have to stop the doctor 00:09:39.940 --> 00:09:42.299 because I would go into the room with the doctor, 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:45.980 and the doctor would say, okay, Mrs. Smith, so 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:48.220 here's how your test results are going. And I'd 00:09:48.220 --> 00:09:52.340 say, can we verify who's in the room? Because 00:09:52.340 --> 00:09:54.200 there would be people at the bedside, and there 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:57.360 was more than one occasion where it was a church 00:09:57.360 --> 00:10:01.610 group or it was the next -door neighbor. Or it 00:10:01.610 --> 00:10:04.210 was, you know, the next -door neighbor's brother's 00:10:04.210 --> 00:10:06.429 uncle's sister's cousin's nephew, whoever. And 00:10:06.429 --> 00:10:09.070 we can all think of the nightmare scenario of 00:10:09.070 --> 00:10:11.250 walking in and telling someone something that 00:10:11.250 --> 00:10:14.330 they don't want publicly known. And yet their 00:10:14.330 --> 00:10:17.570 entire public is right there. And I was also 00:10:17.570 --> 00:10:22.210 present the day that I warned the doctor. And 00:10:22.210 --> 00:10:26.070 the doctor either did not hear me or chose not 00:10:26.070 --> 00:10:30.320 to listen. and went in and just divulged everything 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:33.539 gave a current update and the patient was absolutely 00:10:33.539 --> 00:10:38.399 mortified because that was not family at the 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:41.120 bedside they did not want that information shared 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:44.799 and a formal complaint was filed that would have 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:47.879 been prevented if the doctor had listened to 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:51.860 The lowly social worker who was providing information 00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:58.340 not to belittle the doctor, not to step on the 00:10:58.340 --> 00:11:01.500 doctor's authority, but to protect the doctor. 00:11:01.500 --> 00:11:03.899 And I'm not saying that the doctor did it intentionally, 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:06.960 that they were disregarding me. Honestly, doctors 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:09.120 have so much on their plates. They've got so 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:13.370 little time. Their goal is to get in, get the 00:11:13.370 --> 00:11:15.750 information shared, find out what they need to 00:11:15.750 --> 00:11:17.830 know, and then move on because they've got a 00:11:17.830 --> 00:11:21.970 lot going on. But this is important, and these 00:11:21.970 --> 00:11:24.409 are the small details that, you know, like we 00:11:24.409 --> 00:11:26.649 were saying in a previous show, in an investigation, 00:11:26.970 --> 00:11:30.070 details matter. And these are the details that 00:11:30.070 --> 00:11:34.690 matter. Well, on that note, we have to step into 00:11:34.690 --> 00:11:37.649 another episode because we are completely out 00:11:37.649 --> 00:11:39.779 of time. Quick summary. Keep your information 00:11:39.779 --> 00:11:42.440 in writing. Don't divulge it verbally if you're 00:11:42.440 --> 00:11:45.519 not in a private location. Keep an eye on those 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:48.139 bills. Question anything that you're not familiar 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:51.279 with. Keep an eye on your credit report. And 00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:53.539 by all means, advocate for yourself. If there's 00:11:53.539 --> 00:11:55.639 something you're not sure of or don't understand 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:58.340 why it is the way it is, question it, question 00:11:58.340 --> 00:12:01.120 it, question it. And tune in again next week 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:04.899 for even more fascinating, important information 00:12:04.899 --> 00:12:07.440 to help you live the very best life possible. 00:12:08.660 --> 00:12:11.360 Again, a Light Keepers podcast is brought to 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:14.700 you each week by A Guiding Light Incorporated, 00:12:14.779 --> 00:12:18.399 501c3 nonprofit charity. There's a QR code on 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:20.960 the screen if you would like to donate. We certainly 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:23.820 do appreciate that. It helps us bring this important 00:12:23.820 --> 00:12:26.700 information to you each week. And again, this 00:12:26.700 --> 00:12:29.669 is information that you should... go to your 00:12:29.669 --> 00:12:33.409 own personal professionals who know your caregivers 00:12:33.409 --> 00:12:35.710 and professionals who know your unique situation 00:12:35.710 --> 00:12:40.149 and can best apply these questions, this conversation 00:12:40.149 --> 00:12:43.909 to what actually matters to your life. Please 00:12:43.909 --> 00:12:46.269 do that. Do not take anything that we say on 00:12:46.269 --> 00:12:48.769 the show and apply it to yourself personally 00:12:48.769 --> 00:12:51.389 without first consulting the professional caregiver 00:12:51.389 --> 00:12:56.629 that knows you and your unique means. With that 00:12:56.629 --> 00:12:59.879 in mind, We appreciate you being with us. Please 00:12:59.879 --> 00:13:03.379 click that subscribe, like, and the little bell 00:13:03.379 --> 00:13:05.779 that tells you that we've put up another episode 00:13:05.779 --> 00:13:08.340 so you don't miss a single piece of this wonderful 00:13:08.340 --> 00:13:10.980 information on the Light Keepers podcast each 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:15.080 Wednesday evening at 7 p .m. I'm Clayton Vandiver, 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:17.200 your Light Keeper from the middle of the Pacific 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.220 Ocean. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next 00:13:20.220 --> 00:13:20.440 time.