Health Information Management

HIPAA may hinder recovery of missing woman

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, July 21, 2008

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Paula Thomas of Birmingham, AL, wants access to her missing sister’s medical records, but she’s encountered a roadblock—HIPAA, CBS 42 WIAT TV in Birmingham, AL, reported June 26.  
 
Staff members at a Mansfield, OH, mental clinic have cited HIPAA in their refusal to release the records of a patient Thomas believes is her sister, Pam Biggers. "You can't get any information no matter what the case no matter what the explanation you give them. It is against the law for them to give you information, which I understand, but it is very disheartening," Thomas told the CBS affiliate.
 
Assistance from the medical community could help solve many missing persons cases, Birmingham investigator Lt. Henry Irby told the television station. 
 
"There should be a way for the medical field to let us know about a person’s identity. We are law enforcement," Irby told CBS 42. “We are here to protect and serve.”
 
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