HIPAA Headaches

True story (in a nutshell): My friend in Washington has a daughter who lives here in Utah. The daughter's husband is serving in Iraq. A few months ago the daughter was found unconscious in her home and taken to the hospital. My friend immediately flew to Utah to help. She arrived at the hospital and no one would give her the time of day because she was not listed on any HIPAA disclosure forms (the daughter was unconscious when admitted). After several hours my friend prevailed on the doctor to at least listen to her (the mom) so she could give him some very necessary health information about her daughter, whether or not he would share any info with the mom. It was a nightmare. When the daughter regained consciousness, it was all worked out. But there was a very long time before that happened.

I'm not here to debate the good and bad sides of our HIPAA laws. I just want to make the point that it is absolutely necessary to make sure that you have everyone listed on your HIPAA disclosure forms that might need your information.

Because of my friend's experience I decided we need to make sure my parents' info is all up to date. I made a list of each of my parents' doctors and wrote a letter to each of them requesting their spouse and children (listed by name) be on their individual HIPAA disclosure forms, and that that information be placed in their individual charts immediately. (I had asked a couple of doctor's offices what information was necessary and we made sure to include it all.)

The last time I was at my parents', I had them sign all the letters and we mailed them off. Despite frequent reminders, my parents never remembered to do this when they were in the doctor's office, so the letters were a good answer. I repeatedly explained why we were doing this, and my parents agreed that it was a good idea.

Then I was driving with my mom and she said, "I don't really think you need to worry about all this. You used to go to our doctor. I'm sure he will just tell you anything you want to know because he knows you." I explained once again the HIPAA laws and the fact that they can't even tell my dad anything without her permission. She was shocked and said the laws are ridiculous.

But the laws are what they are, and we are taking the necessary steps to make sure we can all be informed in case of an emergency - or other need.