Once again, I'm Clayton Vandiver, your light
keeper, out here in the middle of the Pacific
Ocean, where the ocean is wide and the information
we have for you is deep and profound. How's that
for an opening? That's pretty good. With me as
always, Charlene, our licensed clinical social
worker with lots of great information for you.
Today we're going to be recapping HIPAA and medical
health information, health protection, protected
health information. You can see I'm obviously
just an innocent bystander here. She's the real
profession. So we've spent the last few episodes
talking about the importance of HIPAA. and HIPAA
protecting that protected health information,
that PHI, and what can happen if it isn't protected.
And today's show is really just taking all of
those different shows, summarizing everything
and making it a nice, you know, neat little bundle
with a bow on top to just, you know, give that
information, just a summary recap so people can
know moving forward just how important this is.
A little package of protected health information.
Exactly. So, once again, what does HIPAA represent?
What is its overall... So, HIPAA, we don't need
to get into the acronym again because it's way
too long, but basically what HIPAA is, is it's
the federal law that protects our personally
identifiable information. Any information that
can... that can identify you as an individual.
Your name, date of birth, address, telephone
number, medical records, prescription history,
all of that. That is all HIPAA protected information.
Yes, anytime you check in to most medical facilities,
you sign a sheet, it's your HIPAA release that
you allow them to receive information from other
medical facilities about you. that allows them
to provide information to a designated family
member or caregiver. Correct. So they'll have
that sheet for you. But generally, the person
who's having to sign it is the person who's sick
or injured and not the person who is willing
to read all the fine print and know exactly what
it's all about. And that's why we're here to
help you. I'm going to be honest. I have... I've
never read that form. I have done the admissions
for... and I have been in the room when the billing
person comes in with that huge stack of papers
and says, here, sign here, here, here, here,
here. I wouldn't take time to read that. But
there's a lot of important information in there
that people aren't aware that they're signing
off on. Like, for example, the right to dispute
a discharge from the hospital if they have Medicare.
But we'll cover that at a later time. That's
a topic for another show. But I appreciate that.
That's a good topic. Yeah, people don't even
realize that they're signing off acknowledging
that they've been told that, that they have that
right, because they're just going through signing.
They're not paying attention. And when it comes
to your personal information, especially your
personal health information, there's so much
at risk. Because if that information gets out
and is used nefariously by someone looking to
do harm, maybe not to you specifically, but just
to their own benefit. You're looking at the risk
of financial liability. You're going to get bills
for treatment that you didn't receive. You could
get a hit on your credit report if that bill
goes to collections. And you might not receive
your medical care that you need. It can interfere
with your ability to get treatment, your ability
to get your own medications. Because we all know
if your pharmacist thinks you've already received
that medication, your insurance is not going
to cover it. They're not going to pay for it
twice. No. They're not going to provide it to
you a second time. No, the insurance will not
cover it. And one of the examples that we gave
in an earlier show is, you know, I know someone
who has a son with a very similar name. And the
insurance company mistakenly got their birthdays
mixed up. And because of that, the father was
not able to get his medications because, according
to the insurance company, he wasn't supposed
to be getting them. Yeah, he was the wrong person.
He was the wrong person. So that's an example
of your HIPAA -protected information is only
as good as it is maintained intact, integrity,
the correctness of it. And that's why it's important
for people, and this is pretty much... Critical
errors can always happen. Exactly. And so these
were the suggestions that we gave in the previous
shows that are so important. First of all, first
of all, if you are in a medical facility and
they are wanting to verify your information,
do not let them speak it out loud. If they ask
for it, tell them that that is your... protected
health information and you will be more than
happy to provide it in writing. How would they
be verifying it that would be a bad HIPAA virus?
So for example if you're in the emergency room
or if you're in the hospital and there are people
around you that are not with you say for example
if the emergency room is packed and they've got
you on a gurney in the hallway and a billing
person comes up to you and says I just need to
verify this is your name this is your date of
birth and this is your address. This is your
insurance information. They've just given away
all that information to anyone who can hear it.
They have just grossly violated your HIPAA. And
even if you're in the little bay in an emergency
room... If there's nothing but a curtain around
you, still a HIPAA violation. The audio can pass
through that. Now, even if you're in a private
room... If the door is open. If the door is open.
or there's another party if it's a shared room.
Correct. And we were going to talk about how
can people in a shared room... Different episode.
Oh, that's a whole other episode. That's a whole
other... I didn't know if there was that much
material for that. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah,
well, imagine, let's set that up. You're in a
room in the hospital. There's someone else in
that room also in another bed. There's maybe
a curtain in between you, maybe not. And some
of their family members are in there. Some of
your family members are in there. Medical personnel
are talking about HIPAA -protected information.
Do you have privacy? Not really. Is that a HIPAA
violation? Or if you have a loved one in a nursing
home, that is a shared room. That's a very common
situation. In hospitals, there hasn't been really
an issue with shared rooms outside of the emergency
room since the beginning of COVID. However, that
may start to change now that the worst of COVID
is behind us. But in nursing homes, that's still
very much a thing. You're going to have, unless
you are paying for a private room, you're going
to have at least one, sometimes two or three
other individuals in the room with you. And that
makes HIPAA a very difficult thing to do. It
makes HIPAA impossible. And that's a very important
question we are going to discuss in a future
episode is... Well, do you actually have any
privacy? And is that actually a legal situation?
But the point is, if you're in an emergency room
or in a hospital or if you're in any medical
facility and they ask you for your information,
don't just blurt it out if there are other people
around you. If there's no privacy, don't just
blurt it out. So you can write it down. Tell
them, this is protected information. I don't
want it shared. Let me provide that to you in
writing. And again, if the person is injured
or not fully conscious, they're not going to
be cognizant of doing that. And that's why it's
important to have someone with you if you go
to the hospital. And even there, even there,
there are potential HIPAA violations. And here's
a wonderful example. I had to go to the emergency
room. You took me. They verified all of my information
with you standing right there without confirming
that I wanted you to hear that. They didn't find
out who I was until afterwards. You could have
been my next -door neighbor. They wouldn't have
known. I recall whoever it was doing that actually
looked at me after they'd done all of that, and
I'll never forget, they looked at me and said,
oh, I probably should have asked you first, are
you the husband? Yeah, are you family? And I
looked at her, and I think I remember saying,
You probably should have asked that first. I
do happen to be. Yeah, you hope so. But that's
a perfect example. And when I was working in
the ICU, I was always so very careful because
HIPAA violations are a big deal. Or at least
they are to me. Maybe it's because I'm very protective
of my own information. And I think the social
worker who's concerned with that information
is going to be more aware, more focused on it
than the nurse whose focus is... let's get the
help, let's get the medical, let's get things
done in a very timely manner. And I know there
were times where I would have to stop the doctor
because I would go into the room with the doctor,
and the doctor would say, okay, Mrs. Smith, so
here's how your test results are going. And I'd
say, can we verify who's in the room? Because
there would be people at the bedside, and there
was more than one occasion where it was a church
group or it was the next -door neighbor. Or it
was, you know, the next -door neighbor's brother's
uncle's sister's cousin's nephew, whoever. And
we can all think of the nightmare scenario of
walking in and telling someone something that
they don't want publicly known. And yet their
entire public is right there. And I was also
present the day that I warned the doctor. And
the doctor either did not hear me or chose not
to listen. and went in and just divulged everything
gave a current update and the patient was absolutely
mortified because that was not family at the
bedside they did not want that information shared
and a formal complaint was filed that would have
been prevented if the doctor had listened to
The lowly social worker who was providing information
not to belittle the doctor, not to step on the
doctor's authority, but to protect the doctor.
And I'm not saying that the doctor did it intentionally,
that they were disregarding me. Honestly, doctors
have so much on their plates. They've got so
little time. Their goal is to get in, get the
information shared, find out what they need to
know, and then move on because they've got a
lot going on. But this is important, and these
are the small details that, you know, like we
were saying in a previous show, in an investigation,
details matter. And these are the details that
matter. Well, on that note, we have to step into
another episode because we are completely out
of time. Quick summary. Keep your information
in writing. Don't divulge it verbally if you're
not in a private location. Keep an eye on those
bills. Question anything that you're not familiar
with. Keep an eye on your credit report. And
by all means, advocate for yourself. If there's
something you're not sure of or don't understand
why it is the way it is, question it, question
it, question it. And tune in again next week
for even more fascinating, important information
to help you live the very best life possible.
Again, a Light Keepers podcast is brought to
you each week by A Guiding Light Incorporated,
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information to you each week. And again, this
is information that you should... go to your
own personal professionals who know your caregivers
and professionals who know your unique situation
and can best apply these questions, this conversation
to what actually matters to your life. Please
do that. Do not take anything that we say on
the show and apply it to yourself personally
without first consulting the professional caregiver
that knows you and your unique means. With that
in mind, We appreciate you being with us. Please
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Wednesday evening at 7 p .m. I'm Clayton Vandiver,
your Light Keeper from the middle of the Pacific
Ocean. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next
time.