Health Information Management

Delaware lawmakers look to get around HIPAA privacy

HIPAA Weekly Advisor, November 21, 2005

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State legislators in Delaware are looking for ways to get around the HIPAA privacy rule so they can assess the healthcare provided in state prisons, www.newszap.com reports.

The state, which has a $25.9 million contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide inmate medical services, is looking into the issue after inmates and their families criticized poor care in the facilities. Legislators wanted to examine individual medical records as part of the investigation, and were stymied when HIPAA blocked the release of the records, according to the article.

"We have been hearing all these allegations but we can't get to the bottom of it because of HIPAA," Rep. John C. Atkins said. "It's hard to fix anything if you are only seeing one side of the story. To make an informed decision that will impact taxpayers financially, we need to see both sides."

State House Speaker Terry R. Spence will ask his attorneys look into possible ways around the rule. A possible solution might be a law that strips convicts of their HIPAA privacy rights, much as they lose voting rights in prison. Another route is to somehow take advantage of HIPAA's existing provisions for disclosure to family members.

Click here to read the www.newszap.com article.



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