HIPAA and Baseball

[ajh88]

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So, I'm just curious about this in light of the stories "breaking" today regarding HGH and baseball. How does information regarding what precriptions a patient purchased from which pharmacy (and even which doctor prescribed them) become public? Shouldn't all of this information be protected by HIPAA? I understand that the pharmacy was being investigated for illegal practices, but shouldn't the patients still have a right to privacy unless there will be charges against them (the patient personally) for illegal activity?

It's just had me thinking and I was wondering if anyone could enlighten me.

Thanks!

 

[Old Timer]

Well think about this. HIPPA was part of an act that was written to protect electronic claims submission. Since I will bet most of my salary the patients in these cases are paying cash and no electronic claim was filed, HIPPA does not apply unless you are a covered entity. I would bet most of these places do not fall into that criteria.

Even if HIPPA was involved, once the authorities come and confiscate the providers records via a search warrant and they choose to disseminate this information to the public, via the media, in order to embarrass or humiliate the suspect, the provider is off the hook.

 

[Farmercyst]

Well think about this. HIPPA was part of an act that was written to protect electronic claims submission. Since I will bet most of my salary the patients in these cases are paying cash and no electronic claim was filed, HIPPA does not apply unless you are a covered entity. I would bet most of these places do not fall into that criteria.

Even if HIPPA was involved, once the authorities come and confiscate the providers records via a search warrant and they choose to disseminate this information to the public, via the media, in order to embarrass or humiliate the suspect, the provider is off the hook.

I'm thinking it may become available through freedom of information act if seized by a government entity, not necessarily the original records, but any proceedings dealing with those records. Court docs etc, unless under court protection would detail these things nicely. (See Flynn docs in Licensing and Exams forum)

 

[Old Timer]

I'm thinking it may become available through freedom of information act if seized by a government entity, not necessarily the original records, but any proceedings dealing with those records. Court docs etc, unless under court protection would detail these things nicely. (See Flynn docs in Licensing and Exams forum)

Each Judge has the right to withhold information regardless of a FOIA request which usually are issued against the executive branch of government. What you have to understand, is the government is usually the leaking entity in order to embarrass the defendant or diminish the defendant in the eyes of the public.