HIPAA–Are We Over-reacting?

Extract

Y2K came and went relatively uneventfully. Of course, many preparations had been made, but none of the devastating disasters predicted occurred. We were quickly back to life as usual with no dramatic changes. Not so after April 14, 2003…

April 14, 2003 was the date that healthcare systems had to be in compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Even with all the HIPAA training programs in place, there are still many questions and more than a few surprises.

The intention of HIPAA is to allow portability of health insurance, while protecting the privacy of the consumer. There has been some excellent coverage of what HIPAA is and how we THINK it might affect laboratory operations and education.^1,2 I am not proposing to debate that information in this column, and I certainly respect a patient's right to privacy, but I'd like to give you my personal perspective and pose some questions.

A scenario was related to me recently. Clinical laboratory science (CLS) students at a university based program had been assigned case studies as part of their capstone experience. These case studies were to be prepared for a 15-minute presentation to the class, as well as a paper suitable for publishing in their professional journal Clinical Laboratory Science. For the past eight years this scenario had been used without any problems. For this assignment, students at the institution work with a CLS faculty member and a pathology resident as advisors. The usual preparatory work had…