Tiease's Valley of the Paper Divas
Tiease D. Deutsch
P. O. Box 5043
Charlotte, N. C. 28299
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Health & Beauty
by
Tiease D. Deutsch
Protecting Your Personal Health Information!
With every one and their mothers having cosmetic surgery these days I thought it would be wise to hip my readers to some harsh realities about who has access to "Your Personal Health Records."
Hospitals & Medical Providers are quick to inform potential clients/patients of your obvious rights, such as:
1. You have the right to ask that your hospitals/Doctors restrict the uses & disclosures of your PHI, however they have the right to provide Governmental agencies, including those engaged in secret experimental test with access to your medical records. In addition to sharing information with other health care providers and agencies.
2. You have the right to ask for different ways to communicate with you. This legally gives you the right to demand that medical terminology be converted to ordinary everyday words that you can understand. You also have the right to an interpreter.
3. You have the right to see & copy your Personal Health Information (PHI). This doesn't mean that you can just request to see your patientchart most hospitals have strict rules they adhere to in order that you be granted access to your own medical records. Ordinarily you will be ask to fill out in depth forms and/or produce a hand written request. Next you will be asked to pay for your copies by most Hospitals & even then you won't automatically receive all your records, because it is common practice for hospitals to only supply the minimal amount of information especially if you are involved in a malpractice case & on top of that during malpractice suit you may inundated with massive amount of data which is all mix up and very confused. They may with hold information that may prove that they are neglectful.
A patients medical chart is divided into several sections which is are common knowledge to those in the health care industry but not for laypersons unaware of their existence.You must specify the exact records you want. The common sections of any patients char consist of: Patient contact information, insurance coverage, living will/resuscitation criteria, Laboratory work, Patient health history, next of kin contacts, Doctor's orders, Nurse's notes, Consultation notes, x-ray, scans, EKG's etc.... reports, Dietary section, Nursing Assessment, Care plan, Physical therapy, Discharge orders & the list goes on. I am aware of these only because I'm a registered nurse myself. Nurses are also instructed by executive health risk management (Lawyers employed by the facility & Nurses trained in Risk Management) to only enter the least amount of information as possible which can be used against the facility should a law suit occur. This is tricky since Nurse's nurse are suppose to be specific and a thorough documentation of a patients status and happening during your hospitalization. Even a visit by your Doctor is suppose to be recorded by your nurse in the nurse's notes section of your chart. You see now why you really need a malpractice attorney when you are involved in a malpractice case. You need their expertise just to get the information that you need.
3. You may object to certain uses & disclosures, but the hospital also has rights to over rule you through their multiple legal loop holes.
4. You have the right to ask for changes to be made to your PHI & request a list of people or organizations who have obtained your medical records. Provided that you are aware of those who have had access to your records. Governmental experimental records are often withheld from clients under various dodgy pretences, such as "Threat to National Security" a broad spectrum which allows just about anything to go in the Government's favour.
5. Believe it or not the health care facility may contact you to raise money for their organizations & partners, and worse they may share your personal health information with collection agencies, Consumer reporting agencies/credit bureaus ect., any substance may be reported to the police & courts.
6. If your are under the age of 18 even more of your personal health records may be disclosed to several individuals without your permission. In fact you have even less rights to your personal medical history privacy. The laws pertaining to teens varies from state to state. Generally a young woman under 18 years cannot get an abortion without medical staff notifying your parents and/or guardian's only a court order can prevent your personal health records from being shared.
7. If you test positive for HIV/Aids, any communicable disease, Tuberculosis, Typhoid, Hepatitis etc. this information is also shared with various health agencies including the board of health. Under these these circumstance I believe the needs of the many do out weigh the needs of the one. The ugly side of devastating plagues warrants disclosure of this kinds of public health risk.
8. If you are under 18 married; are a member of the armed services, or an emancipated minor you have the right to be treated as an adult for your health care. Meaning you have the same limited rights of ordinary adult citizens.
9. Should you become a mental health or drug abuse client the medical facility may inform your family member if they decide that sharing your personal health records is in your best interest. This gets a bit confusing since if you ask the health care facility to which you are in not to tell your family, then they may not tell them, unfortunately again there are a lot of loop holes here too. If your family member is involved in your care, and ask the facility to disclose your (PHI) concerning admission and/or discharge from a facility, including the name of the facility, any decision by you to leave a facility against medical advice, and referrals & appointment for treatment after discharge is also shared with them.
In conclusion you can see that there are many ways for the hospitals and health care providers to get around disclosing your personal health care information and getting away with it legally. If your have a warrant law enforcement is provided with your personal health care records without your permission, this means that if your are receiving substance/alcohol abuse services from a facility especially Federally funded medical providers more of your health confidentiality is up for grabs. Today with computer criminals your identity and health records are more at risk than ever before & patient rights are becoming increasingly blurred. You must be a shrewd Pro-Self-Health advocate in order to protect yourself and your privacy.
I think that I have a responsibility enlighten your understanding of your rights, the advantages & power Health Care Facilities & providers have over your personal information.
copyright by Tiease D. Deutsch 1-13-2012
Health Consultant/Writer/Artist/R.N.
5. Believe it or not the health care facility may contact you to raise money for their organizations & partners, and worse they may share your personal health information with collection agencies, Consumer reporting agencies/credit bureaus ect., any substance may be reported to the police & courts.
6. If your are under the age of 18 even more of your personal health records may be disclosed to several individuals without your permission. In fact you have even less rights to your personal medical history privacy. The laws pertaining to teens varies from state to state. Generally a young woman under 18 years cannot get an abortion without medical staff notifying your parents and/or guardian's only a court order can prevent your personal health records from being shared.
7. If you test positive for HIV/Aids, any communicable disease, Tuberculosis, Typhoid, Hepatitis etc. this information is also shared with various health agencies including the board of health. Under these these circumstance I believe the needs of the many do out weigh the needs of the one. The ugly side of devastating plagues warrants disclosure of this kinds of public health risk.
8. If you are under 18 married; are a member of the armed services, or an emancipated minor you have the right to be treated as an adult for your health care. Meaning you have the same limited rights of ordinary adult citizens.
9. Should you become a mental health or drug abuse client the medical facility may inform your family member if they decide that sharing your personal health records is in your best interest. This gets a bit confusing since if you ask the health care facility to which you are in not to tell your family, then they may not tell them, unfortunately again there are a lot of loop holes here too. If your family member is involved in your care, and ask the facility to disclose your (PHI) concerning admission and/or discharge from a facility, including the name of the facility, any decision by you to leave a facility against medical advice, and referrals & appointment for treatment after discharge is also shared with them.
In conclusion you can see that there are many ways for the hospitals and health care providers to get around disclosing your personal health care information and getting away with it legally. If your have a warrant law enforcement is provided with your personal health care records without your permission, this means that if your are receiving substance/alcohol abuse services from a facility especially Federally funded medical providers more of your health confidentiality is up for grabs. Today with computer criminals your identity and health records are more at risk than ever before & patient rights are becoming increasingly blurred. You must be a shrewd Pro-Self-Health advocate in order to protect yourself and your privacy.
I think that I have a responsibility enlighten your understanding of your rights, the advantages & power Health Care Facilities & providers have over your personal information.
copyright by Tiease D. Deutsch 1-13-2012
Health Consultant/Writer/Artist/R.N.
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