What is the main purpose of HIPPA?

Answer 1

HIPAA (not HIPPA) is the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, signed into law in 1996. It provides for privacy and protection of health-related information. Everyone who comes into contact with Protected Health Information (PHI) has to observe the provisions of the act which, simply stated, are, don't tell anyone anything about a patient's health, illness, or injury unless they have an actual need to know: The Patient's care providers (doctors, nurses, paramedics, EMTs, etc.) have a right to know. Not just any doctor, nurse, or medic, though, just the ones who have an active role in the patient's care. Their insurance provider also has a right to the information. Their immediate family also have a right to know. Anyone else needs to specifically request such information from the Patient or a privacy officer and prove a genuine need to know. Note that the press is specifically NOT allowed to know without asking permission.

The act covers all identifiable information, including the patient's name and address, phone number, e-mail, etc.

As a care provider you CAN talk about your patient as long as you provide no identifying information and are not disparaging of them in a way that might be actionable. You can say: "Last night we picked up a guy who was having a serious MI, wow, was that a tough call!" You CAN NOT say, "Last night we picked up Mr. Smith of Main Street and took him to Mercy Hospital, bed 403. Boy was he a jerk!"

At it's essence HIPAA says, don't tell anyone anything about a patient that you would not like to have revealed about yourself. Keep their personal information as private and secure as you do your own (or more so).

Here's a bit of doggerel from my Ambulance Corps' hallway:

"What you see here,

What you hear here,

When you leave here,

Leave it here."