Here is some current reporting in regard to HIPAA and your privacy. For many years, since this legislation was enacted, we have warned that it does little to protect your medical records or your privacy. Rather it has been almost an open door for all kinds of distribution, even to many not involved in health care.
We suggest you ask your health insurance provider about the status of your medical records and get copies of everything for your own file.
February 22, 2011, 4:02 pm
Health insurer fined $4.3M for HIPAA violation
By
The federal health department is slapping a Maryland health insurer with a $4.3 million civil money penalty (CMP) for violating medical records rules.
Cignet Health's failure to honor patients' requests for access to their medical records earned the Department of Health and Human Services’s first-ever CMP for a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy rule.
The fine represents the Obama administration’s toughened enforcement of medical privacy laws. The 2009 stimulus package, which provided almost $30 billion to develop electronic health record systems, included boosted penalties for HIPAA violations.
According to HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Cignet was fined $1.3 million for denying 41 patients access to their medical records between September 2008 and October 2009. The insurer was fined another $3 million for failing to cooperate with the OCR investigation.
Cignet Health's failure to honor patients' requests for access to their medical records earned the Department of Health and Human Services’s first-ever CMP for a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy rule.
The fine represents the Obama administration’s toughened enforcement of medical privacy laws. The 2009 stimulus package, which provided almost $30 billion to develop electronic health record systems, included boosted penalties for HIPAA violations.
According to HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Cignet was fined $1.3 million for denying 41 patients access to their medical records between September 2008 and October 2009. The insurer was fined another $3 million for failing to cooperate with the OCR investigation.
“Ensuring that Americans’ health information privacy is protected is vital to our healthcare system and a priority of this Administration,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. “[HHS] is serious about enforcing individual rights guaranteed by the HIPAA Privacy Rule.”
To date HHS Secretary Sebelius has failed to enact several parts of healthcare legislation related to records due in Summer 2010.Daniel E. Austin, the owner of Cignet Health, a Christian-influenced health center, did not return calls to his office seeking comment. The Maryland Board of Physicians revoked his license in 2000 for his conviction for mail and loan fraud. Among the physicians listed on the center's Web site is one whose license was revoked in 2008 for engaging in sexual improprieties and sexual misconduct with patients.Seeger said Cignet also provided health insurance. But last year, the Maryland Insurance Administration ordered Cignet to stop selling health insurance because it was not licensed to do so.Several of the patients informed Cignet that they were requesting copies of their medical records so they could see doctors other than those working at Cignet, according to HHS documents.
Selections from Natural Health News
Oct 17, 2010
I started posting articles about electronic health and medical records in 2006 on Natural Health News. I am not in favour of this push in the arena of cost savings in the US health system. To date little has been shown to indicate any
Jul 19, 2010
1 in 10 medical records on the new electronic database contains errors that could put patients at risk, doctors warn. They contain out of date information, errors on medication or drug allergies etc. ...
Jul 28, 2009
We also know that electronic medical record will not save money as well as the fact that HIPAA was the open sesame for everyone to get access to your data. You do have a choice, and most likely it is to find a health care professional
Nov 17, 2009
I started posting articles about electronic health and medical records in 2006 on Natural Health News. I am not in favour of this push in the arena of cost savings in the US health system. To date little has been shown to indicate any
May 21, 2008
Google's online filing cabinet for medical records opened to the public Monday, giving users instant electronic access to their health histories while reigniting privacy concerns. Called Google Health, the service lets users link ...