Reporters, editors need to understand HIPPA

It’s been many years since the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, was enacted to protect an individual’s health privacy.

As well intentioned as it may have been, it has proven a hurdle in covering the news as hospitals, police and medical providers hid behind HIPAA to deny public information to the press. What’s worse is that reporters and editors still remain unclear on what information they are privy to.

I saw this mistake in a recent news story about a car crash. The local newspaper reported the crash on the front page, and then ended the story on the jump saying the hospital couldn’t release his condition for privacy concerns.

My reaction from reading the story while I was drinking more morning coffee was disappointment.

That one sentence told me three things: the reporter took what the hospital spokesperson said without questioning it, the reporter isn’t informed about HIPAA and the editor either isn’t informed about HIPAA or didn’t read the story carefully.

In a nutshell, HIPAA restricts health care and medical professionals from disclosing detailed medical information about a patient without consent. It does not, however, give hospitals permission to refuse to supply any information. They are prohibited from disclosing personally identifying information such as names, addresses or specific medical conditions. It also means they can’t provide the name of a patient.

However, if a journalist has the name of a patient, a hospital should be able to provide the condition, age, a general address (such as the city or state) and general medical condition.

HIPAA does not apply to law enforcement agencies.

During those first few months after HIPAA was enacted in April 2003, my newsroom struggled with local law enforcement and hospital officials to gather essential information about the condition of patients. We had countless conversations with police officers, nurses, hospital spokespersons and administrations to sort through the guidelines. I even faxed copies of guidelines on HIPAA from the National Newspaper Association and the American Hospital Association (www.aha.org)to local agencies to try and obtain information. Through the diligent work of my reporters, they were able to work through these tough times with local agencies, although the issue continued to come up when dealing with an out-of-area hospital or new employees.

If reporters and editors haven’t looked at HIPAA’s guidelines in a while, take another look and make sure new reporters have the tools they need.
Be familiar with HIPAA. The National Newspaper Association’s brochure “After HIPAA: Reporting and Medical Privacy Rules” is available at www.nna.org (click on Public Policy).

Hospitals can’t release a patient's name; the reporter must have the name. Do your work and get the information from law enforcement or other sources. Remember, HIPAA doesn’t apply to law enforcement.

Question everything. If a hospital spokesperson refuses to release information for “privacy concerns”, question it. If you hit a brick wall, go to the next level. Ask for the nurse supervisor or call the hospital administrator; even if it means calling him or her at home.

Bypass the hospital. Call the main switchboard and ask for the patient’s room. A relative will likely answer the phone if the patient has been admitted to the hospital. Most times, family members want to share what’s going on with their loved ones.

Call the victim’s house. Again, a family member will likely answer the phone and want to talk.

Hospitals are not required to provide specific details, but the American Hospital Association has advised its members to provide one-word descriptions, such as stable, satisfactory or critical. Ask for those descriptions.

Don’t let it go. If a hospital still refuses to provide details, put it in the story somewhere near the top. Public hospitals are funded through taxpayers’ dollars and the public needs to be informed if their hospitals are denying information to the press. Then, follow-up with hospital officials to resolve the issue.

When in doubt, talk to fellow editors, consult with your state press association’s lawyer or call the NNA Hotline at (703) 534-1278.