PS HIPAA Violation

[yoyoyoyoyolee]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Would it be a violation to talk about a pt's life experiences? I.E. getting arrested, gunfight, etc. Would mentioning things like how several docs detested this particular patient(which makes the pt very identifiable only by the doctors/nurses who work there) violate HIPAA?
What if the doctor gave special treatment to this particular patient that if I talk about their interaction, the pt would be able to know that I am talking about them? Or that the family may know? I am just trying to consider all kinds of things that might violate HIPAA

 

[mcloaf]

Getting arrested or being in a gunfight is not personally identifiable information. Short of giving the exact date and location of these incidents I don't see how this could ever be used to identify the person in question.

That being said, nobody reading your PS cares or wants to hear about some random patient's life experiences any more than necessary so I don't think you should waste space in your PS talking about it. You can say the patient was difficult or other docs didn't like them or whatever, but you should be able to set the scene for whatever it is you're trying to say without spending a ton of time and space on things which are not related to you going to medical school.

 

[mistafab]

PS is about you bro - the path you are thinking about going down is likely a bad move.

 

[yoyoyoyoyolee]

Getting arrested or being in a gunfight is not personally identifiable information. Short of giving the exact date and location of these incidents I don't see how this could ever be used to identify the person in question.

That being said, nobody reading your PS cares or wants to hear about some random patient's life experiences any more than necessary so I don't think you should waste space in your PS talking about it. You can say the patient was difficult or other docs didn't like them or whatever, but you should be able to set the scene for whatever it is you're trying to say without spending a ton of time and space on things which are not related to you going to medical school.

Hi, thank you. But would it matter if people who work in the healthcare can tell who I'd be talking about since to them, it was a peculiar case(?) as well? Reading the anecdote I may write may make the pt easily identifiable by the patient/their family if they read it, or by nurses, and doctors .

 

[yoyoyoyoyolee]

PS is about you bro - the path you are thinking about going down is likely a bad move.

thanks! Could you answer my above question? appreciate the advice

 

[LizzyM]

Be very careful. Strange things can happen... an adcom member read an essay about a memorable child the applicant had interacted with as a school for disabled children. The child was her son... who had died 2 weeks earlier! She did not review the application (obviously). I had an applicant who mentioned my brother by name in talking about getting good medical care at a college health center. I've also seen an essay that revealed something of a family secret about the daughter of a friend of mine (her grandchild was the applicant). I never told the woman but it was somewhat awkward as I don't expect the grandchild ever thought that someone who knew the family would be reading the essay.

 

[yoyoyoyoyolee]

Be very careful. Strange things can happen... an adcom member read an essay about a memorable child the applicant had interacted with as a school for disabled children. The child was her son... who had died 2 weeks earlier! She did not review the application (obviously). I had an applicant who mentioned my brother by name in talking about getting good medical care at a college health center. I've also seen an essay that revealed something of a family secret about the daughter of a friend of mine (her grandchild was the applicant). I never told the woman but it was somewhat awkward as I don't expect the grandchild ever thought that someone who knew the family would be reading the essay.

And because they were identifiable by the adcom, it violates the HIPAA, I'm assuming... and so if a nurse in the hospital somehow was an adcom for my essay, I'd be violating HIPAA?

 

[laxbrah20]

PS is about you bro - the path you are thinking about going down is likely a bad move.

I'm gonna agree with Shaq here. I would be cautious of using this anecdote unless it really is your "why medicine" moment.

 

[Goro]

Would it be a violation to talk about a pt's life experiences? I.E. getting arrested, gunfight, etc. Would mentioning things like how several docs detested this particular patient(which makes the pt very identifiable only by the doctors/nurses who work there) violate HIPAA?
What if the doctor gave special treatment to this particular patient that if I talk about their interaction, the pt would be able to know that I am talking about them? Or that the family may know? I am just trying to consider all kinds of things that might violate HIPAA

Just write "Joe" and you'll be fine. Change some of the events for better anonymity. Arrests are not part of HIPAA.

 

[longhaul3]

Just change some of the story so that in the end it doesn't actually identify anyone at all. Making things up for this purpose isn't disingenuous as long as the point is the same.

 

[LizzyM]

HIPAA is a federal law that has only been in effect for about 20 years. The idea of patient privacy and the confidentiality of the information you learn in the conduct of your duties goes back more than 2300 years! Don't think about this in terms of whether or not it is a violation of a specific federal law but whether it is a violation of the patient's right to privacy.

And I'd go beyond patient privacy to recommend being very careful about violating the privacy of your family members, people who you've helped in non-clinical settings, and health care providers, particularly if you are critical of them.

 

[jm192]

I agree with the poster that said you're missig the point.

I don't want to read an amazing patient case. I don't need the whole story.
I have to assume that you feel as though in missions committee is going to read the story, and be impressed and how you handled such a complex situation. Having reviewed countless numbers of these on my med schools in mission committee, residency, and just good ole SDN, I can assure you no one ever thinks that. Nothing you are going to write will convince me that you belong there because you are already medically capable in anyway. You can convince me that you're compassionate and that you care about people and that you're in this for the right reasons. You can convince me that you won't be a slacker and then I would enjoy having you on my service.

Understand that medical schools think that you're coming to them to learn medicine. That means the science and the small things such as bedside manner.

If we wanted an interesting patient case, Grey's Anatomy is much more interesting than any store you were going to write. But, I need to know about you the person.

 

[LizzyM]

In theory, what if a family member's history with mental/physical illness or major life event was the applicant's reason for wanting to pursue medicine? Can't the applicant expect that the admissions committee would maintain confidentiality about that information shared in the personal statement or secondary, just like they do for the rest of the application?

It is not a question about whether the admissions committee would maintain confidentiality of the information but whether they have a right to that information at all and if you have a right to share that information. Once I know that your father beat your mother and broke her jaw, I can't un-know it even if I do need to preserve your parents' privacy by not repeating the story to anyone else.

You can't (or shouldn't) treat family members so while your initial interest in medicine might have been sparked by a relative's illness or injury, it should be tested through employment or volunteerism with people who are not your loved ones. You can use "injury" or 'chronic illness" or "health issues" to cover a variety of things that have happened to your relatives without getting into violations of privacy. No one on the adcom needs the lurid details of the specific illness or injury. You found them interesting because they were personal. What about the millions of things you will be expected to learn that aren't specific to someone you love? Can you work up enthusiasm for that? Give me examples of how you've done that.

 

[yoyoyoyoyolee]

It is not a question about whether the admissions committee would maintain confidentiality of the information but whether they have a right to that information at all and if you have a right to share that information. Once I know that your father beat your mother and broke her jaw, I can't un-know it even if I do need to preserve your parents' privacy by not repeating the story to anyone else.

You can't (or shouldn't) treat family members so while your initial interest in medicine might have been sparked by a relative's illness or injury, it should be tested through employment or volunteerism with people who are not your loved ones. You can use "injury" or 'chronic illness" or "health issues" to cover a variety of things that have happened to your relatives without getting into violations of privacy. No one on the adcom needs the lurid details of the specific illness or injury. You found them interesting because they were personal. What about the millions of things you will be expected to learn that aren't specific to someone you love? Can you work up enthusiasm for that? Give me examples of how you've done that.

Who are you by the way? I'm just always surprised at your prompt/helpful responses

 

[LizzyM]

Who are you by the way? I'm just always surprised at your prompt/helpful responses

LizzyM
SDN Advisor
10+ Year Member
Status:Academic Administration
Verified Faculty

I've been a med school faculty member for > 20 years, member of the medical school admissions committee for >15 years, hanging out here and providing advice since 2005.

 

[Toutie]

LizzyM
SDN Advisor
10+ Year Member
Status:Academic Administration
Verified Faculty

I've been a med school faculty member for > 20 years, member of the medical school admissions committee for >15 years, hanging out here and providing advice since 2005.

She is also the "Evil Queen of Numbers". 😉

 

[cactusman]

Who are you by the way? I'm just always surprised at your prompt/helpful responses

LizzyM
SDN Advisor
10+ Year Member
Status:Academic Administration
Verified Faculty

I've been a med school faculty member for > 20 years, member of the medical school admissions committee for >15 years, hanging out here and providing advice since 2005.

Also see: the LizzyM score (less referenced in recent months since the MCAT changed and MSAR switched over).
@Goro describes LizzyM's med school as "located in the stratosphere" (rankings-wise), in case you ever see a user try to discount her (and the other adcom members') advice based on institution ranking and selectivity.

 

[Dr. Stalker]

Would it be a violation to talk about a pt's life experiences? I.E. getting arrested, gunfight, etc. Would mentioning things like how several docs detested this particular patient(which makes the pt very identifiable only by the doctors/nurses who work there) violate HIPAA?
What if the doctor gave special treatment to this particular patient that if I talk about their interaction, the pt would be able to know that I am talking about them? Or that the family may know? I am just trying to consider all kinds of things that might violate HIPAA

Don't use specific names or their EMR number and you should be alright. Patient anecdotes are very common in PS and secondaries, adcoms won't think bad of you for writing about it.