Bush Administration Decides Not to Require Written Patient Consent for Sharing Medical Records

ap ^ | August 9, 2002 | Janelle Carter

[TomGuy]

Bush Administration Decides Not to Require Written Patient Consent for Sharing Medical Records

By Janelle Carter Associated Press Writer

Published: Aug 9, 2002

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hospitals and physicians can share private information about a patient's health with HMOs and insurance companies without the patient's permission, the Bush administration said Friday in a decision denounced by privacy advocates.

Finalizing rules on the handling of medical records, the Department of Health and Human Services set aside a Clinton administration proposal that would have required a patient's written consent before that information could be released.

However, doctors and other health care providers will have to notify patients of privacy policies and make a "good faith effort" to get written acknowledgment under the new policy. Health care providers had complained that requiring written permission could stall needed treatments.

The Clinton version "would have forced sick or injured patients to run all around town getting signatures before they could get care or medicine," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

He said the Bush administration's approach "strikes a common-sense balance by providing consumers with personal privacy protections and access to high quality care."

"Patients now will have a strong foundation of federal protections for the personal medical information that they share with their doctors, hospitals and others who provide their care and help pay for it," Thompson said.

The regulations take effect April 14, 2003.

The Clinton version of the proposal, which was never put into effect, would have required signed consent forms from patients even for routine matters such as billing statements to insurance providers. The Bush administration announced in March that it planned to strip the written consent requirement from the medical privacy regulations.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, promised to introduce legislation to reinstate the mandatory consent forms.

"These regulations are a serious setback for medical privacy," Kennedy said Friday. "Insurance companies and HMOs are given broad access to highly sensitive personal medical information. Action by Congress is clearly needed to guarantee all Americans that the privacy of their medical records will not be abused."

The regulations clarify that personal information cannot be sold or given to drug companies or others that want to market a product or service without patient permission. The final version includes more explicit language to ensure that companies don't use business associate agreements to circumvent marketing rules.

--

On the Net:

Health and Human Services regulations: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa

AP-ES-08-09-02 1759EDT

[SEGUET]

"Don't you just love this guy?!"

Not that much -

Ragan would tie up the back of my hospital gown - between Ashgrief and "W."ALL STREET and now my Doc and HMO somebody is finally going to discover my tatoo of Joan Baez in the nude.

[Iwo Jima]

Okay, guys, which is it? These rules have been in effect for 20 years or these are rules to be implemented?

You are both engaging in floating abstractions and will not or cannot answer the very simple question:

WHAT PROBLEM ARE WE TRYING TO SOLVE? Give me a concrete example of the way things have been done throughtout our entire lifetimes that you think is so totally unsupportable that we have to get the federal government to come in and straigthen us out?

Why don't we just scrap these rules altogether? Why are any rules needed?

[cva66snipe]

That's it? That's the best you have? Bush is endorsed by a RINO governor from Tennessee who instituted socialized medicine. Therefore, "Bush is an HMO ran Universal Health Care Suoporter." Do you Bush bashers actually think before you post?

Think with your mind not loyalities. Who was the Bush Patients Bill of Rights writter? What was the senators name and from what state was he from? What is that senators civil profession? What is the family business ties to the health care industry?

If you can answer these question then my post makes all the sense in the world. Some Republicans are HMO shills even one being a doctor/senator is. I know very well where this led too. BTW go to www.hcfa.gov and take a look around. If anyone has half a brain the programs and proposals would or rather should be very disturbing to them. But then again experience is the best teacher. I know first hand where these programs lead.

Now as for the Patients Bill of Rights what should Bush and the GOP have done? Simple! None was needed and it should have never been written. What was written instead was yet another HMO protective bill. All it would have taken would have recinding the protections congress has unconstitutionally granted HMO's and hold them no more or no less equal than any other person or bussiness in a court of law.

Before you say skyrocketing medical cost I support Cap limits on law suits. I support a cap of either a damage award or actual cost of injury for life awards by mistakes HMO's make.

This is one area I know about real well thank you. I have fought against Universal Health Care for 10 years. Mostly against Republicans pushing it sadly enough. Along comes Bush and says good job there Gov Don-R. Problem was he ruined the state health care system and the state budget doing it. I can back that failure up with many an article post in this very forum other wise I would not have posted it. Bush is too HMO friendly. His record speaks for itself on that matter.

[YaYa123]

"Hospitals and physicians can share private information about a patient's health with HMOs and insurance companies without the patient's permission.."

Well, praise the Lord for common sense!!
My husband had an angioplasty done on 9-11, but the benefit of it didn't last, and he had to have open heart surgery, 3 weeks ago today. The process invovlved his doctor, his cardiologist, radiologists, a surgical team in Atlanta, 2 hospitals, and Tri-care insurance, who had to decide if we would have to go to the regional military hospital in Augusta for the surgery.

I can't even imagine the stress, time, and worry it would have caused if Dean had had to give permission each step of the way, before those caregivers could look at his medical records. And who the heck would object to these people seeing his records? I trusted them with his life, for goodness sake, I'll surely trust them with his medical records.

If folks got their panties in wad about this presidential decision, let me reassure them. President Bush did the right thing! When it comes to life, death, and the loss of a little paperwork privacy, I got my priorities straight.

[ClearasaBell]

African leaders sell all the corn for bucks now 3 million face starvation in malvarie(close enough) .....we are just frogs in the same pot on slow boil!

[Dawgsquat]

PING! Have at it sweetheart.

[cva66snipe]

would have forced sick or injured patients to run all around town getting signatures before they could get care or medicine," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

And what are they doing now? Is Bush going to demand that Congress make HMO's stop the prior approval nonsense which can take months of running around getting information and signatures? It's funny my HMO can as of right now get all my medical info they want. You know those funny coding numbers on your bill? Yea they tell it all. Insurance company gets a copy. This info as it is also being done now will be used by HMO's to further second guess doctors judgements and as a tool to delay payments even more. He's not pushing this for we the people.

[cva66snipe]

That's the best you have? Bush is endorsed by a RINO governor from Tennessee who instituted socialized medicine.

BTW he did not institute it. It was a Dem governor 10 years ago who did along with help from Gore and Hillary Clinton. And name me the two U.S. Senators who yearly go to HCFA to seek it's continued funding and their party affilation. Sundquist had 8 years to stop it. Senators Frist and Thompson could have stopped by refusing to seek appropiations from HCFA but all refused and instead chose to further fund it's damage.

[arkfreepdom]

The HIPPA rules are to be IMPLEMENTED in 4/03 but with the current outcry they will be changed as THIS article states is already in taking place. This whole thing was started because of the advent of electronic medical records and concern over their security. As usual with the government it has blossomed into a whole set of heavy-handed regs with little attention to the problem they were asked to address.

That as simple of an explanation as I can give. There have always been rules about privacy, etc. This is a whole new set of regs.

[Action-America]

More of Dubya's dismantling the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

I used to think that algore would have been worse.  But, looking at what Dubya has accomplished so far, I'm not so sure any more.  At least, algore would have faced united GOP opposition at every turn, instead of the congressional GOP complicity that we have seen, up to now.

Why am I not surprised?

 

[WilliamWallace1999]

You are beyond clueless about this issue. If you want personal privacy, then don't let somebody else pay for your healthcare. The majority of the healthcare dollars spent today are by EMPLOYERS. If you want the shareholders to foot the bill for your care, then you give up your libertarian autonomy you big dufuss. If you want privacy, then get out your checkbook and PAY FOR YOUR CARE. Negotiate your own deals. Physicians would love to go back to the days before third party payers. Dozens of layers of overhead could be stripped out of the system and unneccesary care would be a thing of the past.
The HIPPA regs that Bush is trying to set aside was a major grab of your health info by the government and privacy was just a cover story to get wackos like you to go for it. Do a little research on the actual law and then come back rather than attack GW and reveal yourself to be the dork you are.

[Polybius]

The HIPPA rules.....

The running joke in our hospital when someone asks you, "How are you?" is to reply, "Can't tell ya. That would be a HIPPA violation."

[USA21]

Police will get them guns now

[bonesmccoy]

The democrats are throwing temper tantrums because the Bush Administration doesn't allow the Tech Sector (like Oracle) to play games with the handling of medical information. Clinton Administration officials began playing games with these regulations in order to do two things: (1) carve out a new niche for control of physician decision-making and (2) solidify control of information by democrat led corporations.

[bonesmccoy]

You'll have to do better than that! Exactly what are you accusing GW of selling out? Special interest attorneys?

[bonesmccoy]

Actually, your comment is a bit naive. The reality is that Clinton Administration regulations forced your doctor to release your name, your diagnosis, your tests and your drugs to the insurers. GW is trying to bring some review to the process. I think the HHS is doing the right thing!

[bonesmccoy]

On the other hand, the doctors are FORCED by CLINTON regulations to release to insurers or gov't MediCare/Aid accountants the FACT that the patient had an MRI and has a tumor.

[bonesmccoy]

You are completely correct regarding Hillary Clinton's endeavour to break the physician-patient relationship. In my opinion, these regulations, called HIPAA, were designed to institutionalize new layers of bureaucracy meant to limit and control physicians in this nation.

Now, regarding Tedeee Kennedeeee...

EDWARD M. KENNEDY (D-MA)
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[hove]

Bush is a one termer if this is true! I wonder if he knows this and could give a crap what he does politically. Too much strangeness from this prez. Not gonna be conservative.....wudn't be prudent.....

[bonesmccoy]

You are mistaken regarding "waiver" of consent. In my opinion, the courts do not honor corporations or individuals who claim that another has "waived" a right without a signed document. While faxing is operationally acceptable, I am relatively certain that most tort attorneys would attack the faxed document as being unreliable and itself being a violation of the privacy rights of the plaintiff.

You are entirely correct regarding the inability to protect patients with behavioral, psychological, or chronic medical conditions.

Regarding the cost of health care, you can blame a considerable amount of the cost increase in healthcare on a variety of factors:
* Increase in cost of medical facilities due to Americans with Disability Act, California Earthquake codes, and NCQA guidelines
* Increase in technology needed to effectively diagnose and treat patients
* Increase in drug costs (due to the litigious nature of tort attorneys who keep suing innovative pharmaceutical or technology companies)
* Skyrocketing malpractice premiums.