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Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Turkey Leg on May 30, 2021, 07:52:41 AM

Title: [US] HIPAA Violation?
Post by: Turkey Leg on May 30, 2021, 07:52:41 AM
Please correct any misstatements below. Thank you!

My understanding (after reading various sites, including hhs.gov and cdc.gov) is HIPAA applies to healthcare professionals and staff.

I am not a healthcare professional; therefore, I cannot violate HIPAA.

I could go to a doctor's office and ask to see YOUR private health information, and even if the doctor hands over the files to me, the doctor would prosecuted for HIPAA violations, not me.

Even if I break into a doctor's office and steal all the private medical information in the files, I will be prosecuted for several things, none of which are HIPAA-related.

(A doctor told someone I know that it's a HIPAA violation for someone to ask if you've been vaccinated. I said that was 100% wrong. Hence this post.)
Title: Re: [US] HIPAA Violation?
Post by: MudPuppy on May 30, 2021, 08:00:55 AM
Pretty much.
Title: Re: [US] HIPAA Violation?
Post by: orcateeth on May 30, 2021, 09:27:12 AM
You are correct.

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Title: Re: [US] HIPAA Violation?
Post by: Paul der Krake on May 30, 2021, 09:36:55 AM
If you've been accused by someone on the internet to have violated HIPAA, HIPPA, HIPPO, HOBO, HOTPOT, or any similar-looking acronym, you can almost certainly ignore them.
Title: Re: [US] HIPAA Violation?
Post by: Turkey Leg on May 30, 2021, 11:11:37 AM
If you've been accused by someone on the internet to have violated HIPAA, HIPPA, HIPPO, HOBO, HOTPOT, or any similar-looking acronym, you can almost certainly ignore them.

I was accused in person, the old-fashioned way. :)
Title: Re: [US] HIPAA Violation?
Post by: RetiredAt63 on May 30, 2021, 11:25:49 AM
You can always ask if someone has been vaccinated.  They have a choice as to what they answer.  You are not accessing their medical records or blabbing about what is in their medical records.

I think it is perfectly sensible for someone who is not yet fully vaccinated to ask someone else about their vaccination status before getting together in person, and to be able to evaluate what kind of meetup is appropriate (how much distance, inside or outside).  My choir will be waiting for health guidelines, since by the time we are scheduled to meet in the fall we will all be fully vaccinated (we are volunteering this information to each other), but singing is a high-risk activity.

It's not just COVID vaccination either.  The main sources of whooping cough (pertussis) infections in babies, after the immediate family, is caregivers and grand-parents.  I think it would be totally fair of parents of a baby who is not fully vaccinated against whooping cough to ask a baby sitter if they are vaccinated, or to ask grand-parents to get vaccinated.  Just like you can ask people not to smoke around your baby/child.  And just like the seniors' residence where my dog and I did therapy dog visits asked me to get my flu vaccination every year.
Title: Re: [US] HIPAA Violation?
Post by: Paul der Krake on May 30, 2021, 11:47:35 AM
If you've been accused by someone on the internet to have violated HIPAA, HIPPA, HIPPO, HOBO, HOTPOT, or any similar-looking acronym, you can almost certainly ignore them.

I was accused in person, the old-fashioned way. :)
If you feel like going in the mud to wrestle with pigs, tell them they're violating your first amendment right! Checkmate.