HIPPA Clarification

[misterr]

Hey, I just wanted to clear things up about the HIPPA regulations. Nothing specific came up in the search. I currently volunteer at a local hospital.

For example, if I am at interview and the interviewer asks me about what I have done, would it be perfectly safe to refer to the stuff I see/do?

I know it sounds like a dumb question, but I just want to be safe. I want to write my experiences in a PS. Thanks!

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[MollyMalone]

You might want to try searching for the correct acronym, which is HIPAA.

This website might have some answers for you.

 

[DoctorPardi]

You might want to try searching for the correct acronym, which is HIPAA.

This website might have some answers for you.

At the pathology lab I used to work at they had signs all over that said "Remember HIPPA!"

I went around and wrote, "What about HIPAA?" They changed the signs lol.

 

[MollyMalone]

Just, whatever you do, don't call it HIPPO.

 

[misterr]

WOOPS My bad -________-"

 

[RokChalkJayhawk]

Hey, I just wanted to clear things up about the HIPPA regulations. Nothing specific came up in the search. I currently volunteer at a local hospital.

For example, if I am at interview and the interviewer asks me about what I have done, would it be perfectly safe to refer to the stuff I see/do?

I know it sounds like a dumb question, but I just want to be safe. I want to write my experiences in a PS. Thanks!

For my PS I was worried about the same thing. For starters, change the name of the patient, and also only use a first name (ie Jane). I was also told that because my experience was the only one of its type where I lived that year, that I shouldn't refer to the county or area I was in.

Also- apparently once your essay is submitted it becomes some kind of educational piece which is protected by law and considered private.

All this advice came from the HIPAA dude at Kansas University Med Center.

 

[tch001]

Hey, I just wanted to clear things up about the HIPPA regulations. Nothing specific came up in the search. I currently volunteer at a local hospital.

For example, if I am at interview and the interviewer asks me about what I have done, would it be perfectly safe to refer to the stuff I see/do?

I know it sounds like a dumb question, but I just want to be safe. I want to write my experiences in a PS. Thanks!

Yes, at least to my understanding that is perfectly fine as long as you don't use an indentifying information when you talk about specific patients. Also, don't feel bad about the HIPPA vs HIPAA mistake, I did that too on one of my secondary essays but luckily caught it before I turned it in!

 

[dittozip]

Yes, at least to my understanding that is perfectly fine as long as you don't use an indentifying information when you talk about specific patients. Also, don't feel bad about the HIPPA vs HIPAA mistake, I did that too on one of my secondary essays but luckily caught it before I turned it in!

in my lab we work with patient samples, and we try our best to follow HIPAA compliance. we refer to patients by their ID number and/or initials depending on the circumstance.

you can talk about their case, you just cant say who the person is or reveal enough information that someone can presume it. for example, we work with genetic diseases so i am required to look at pedigrees. under HIPPA compliance i am not allowed to see a completed pedigree b/c the thought is that if i knew enough about this person then based on the family tree i could guess with relative ease who they are. so, our hospital has a policy of only providing pedigrees that are complete enough for study.

 

[Quix]

Total HIPAA compliance is a pain in the butt, but a few rules of thumb work for CYA-purposes in these situations:

(1) No identifying material like full name, SSN, etc.
(2) Vague personal descriptions (e.g., "a guy in his late 20's") work better.
(3) The rarer the case, the vaguer your description of the person should be. Encountering a patient with pica, for instance, is much rarer than encountering a patient with major depression, and should be phrased in vaguer personal terms, since rare cases stand out.