Personal Statement and HIPAA

[Toolips7]

Hi! Just a quick question about my personal statement.

I write about my brother in my personal statement and describe a time where he had to be admitted to a hospital. Am I breaking HIPAA by using his name? I thought not because he’s a sibling/someone I know personally, not a patient I met in a clinical setting. Any ideas?

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[965978]

This is no different than people discussing their grandparents illness, and that happens all the time!

You’re fine.

 

[907914]

Even still, a lot of people use patient first names. They shouldn’t, but they do and I don’t think ADCOMs pursue HIPPA against them. I make sure it is clear I am using a pseudonym.

 

[deleted972488]

Even still, a lot of people use patient first names. They shouldn’t, but they do and I don’t think ADCOMs pursue HIPPA against them. I make sure it is clear I am using a pseudonym.

Or just don’t use a name at all.

 

[907914]

Or just don’t use a name at all.

I agree, I give the advice of “don’t use a name of the story doesn’t require its usage.”

I use the same patient story through my entire PS so it is just better to use a name (I used ‘Sue’ for pseudonym because I like to be clever) than saying “That patient” 15 times.

 

[BoneBroCO]

Piggy backing on this as I have a similar question. If I choose to write about patient experiences is it okay to say an age? age range? gender?

 

[907914]

Piggy backing on this as I have a similar question. If I choose to write about patient experiences is it okay to say an age? age range? gender?

The fewer details the better. No names. Only provide details that are relevant to the story (or if you are talking about the patient in a substantial amount [like mine spans all 6 paragraphs] then enough detail to get the emotional appeal out of the way without too much background details).

 

[seanm028]

The 18 HIPAA identifiers:

Name
Address (all geographic subdivisions smaller than state, including street address, city county, and zip code)
All elements (except years) of dates related to an individual (including birthdate, admission date, discharge date, date of death, and exact age if over 89)
Telephone numbers
Fax number
Email address
Social Security Number
Medical record number
Health plan beneficiary number
Account number
Certificate or license number
Any vehicle or other device serial number
Device identifiers and serial numbers
Web URL
Internet Protocol (IP) Address
Finger or voice print
Photographic image - Photographic images are not limited to images of the face.
Any other characteristic that could uniquely identify the individual

 

[907914]

The 18 HIPAA identifiers:

Name
Address (all geographic subdivisions smaller than state, including street address, city county, and zip code)
All elements (except years) of dates related to an individual (including birthdate, admission date, discharge date, date of death, and exact age if over 89)
Telephone numbers
Fax number
Email address
Social Security Number
Medical record number
Health plan beneficiary number
Account number
Certificate or license number
Any vehicle or other device serial number
Device identifiers and serial numbers
Web URL
Internet Protocol (IP) Address
Finger or voice print
Photographic image - Photographic images are not limited to images of the face.
Any other characteristic that could uniquely identify the individual

As far as address goes: If it is in the context of working at a particular hospital or clinic, that does not give any indicator of where the patient is from. You can talk about that.

But again, only really provide info need to.

 

[BoneBroCO]

Okay, thanks! @MemeLord, I would be interested in seeing how you incorporated your experience into your personal statement. I obviously understand if you are not comfortable sharing either!

 

[907914]

Okay, thanks! @MemeLord, I would be interested in seeing how you incorporated your experience into your personal statement. I obviously understand if you are not comfortable sharing either!

PM me with a reminder and I will try to share!

 

[LizzyM]

A two or three letter name (pseudonym) in quotes is okay: Al, Ben, Dan, Don, Ed Joe, Jim Tom, Tim, Ian, Ada, Sue, Liz, Jen, Xia, Lea.

 

[Toolips7]

Thanks for the super helpful responses!

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Unless you bill for medicare or if you worked for a hospital (which would certainly bill for medicare), HIPAA is entirely irrelevant and does not apply to you.

 

[LizzyM]

Unless you bill for medicare or if you worked for a hospital (which would certainly bill for medicare), HIPAA is entirely irrelevant and does not apply to you.

That said, it is common courtesy, and a principal of medical ethics going back hundreds of years to respect the privacy of patients and to keep their secrets, "whatsoever I shall see or hear in the course of my profession, as well as outside my profession in my intercourse with men, if it be what should not be published abroad, I will never divulge, holding such things to be holy secrets. "

Even if HIPAA does not apply, a student who shadows or volunteers and who learns of things that should be kept confidential should keep that information confidential.

I do think that many people use HIPAA as a convenient shorthand for confidentiality and privacy concerns.