New resource for privacy laws

Questions over privacy laws were among the many concerns surfaced after the Virginia Tech tragedy. Gov. Tim Kaine’s Va. Tech panel pointed to the misunderstanding and confusion surrounding laws like HIPAA and FERPA. And, as families of those with severe mental illnesses know all too well, privacy laws often create barriers to care and treatment of severe mental illnesses.

The US Department of Education, along with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Commerce released guides for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) for schools, families, and colleges and universities.

The guides are available here.

VA Tech: The HIPAA Excuse?

The HIPAA privacy rules (see summary) were never intended to block people from getting needed medical attention. Yet, yesterday we learned from Governor Kaine’s Panel on the Virginia Tech shootings that school officials and mental health professionals claimed the law prevented them from communicating with each other and getting Cho the treatment that he so obviously needed.

That’s simply not true. As the Virginia Tech report and its authors explained, the HIPAA law doesn’t bar all communications about a person’s medical history. In fact, there are specific provisions for medical emergencies, for sharing information with family members and caregivers, and for communicating the presence of a person in the hospital (about page 4).

Another important fact is that the privacy law does not prohibit mental health professionals from LISTENING to information about a patient.

For a more detailed look at releasing health information to the families of people with severe mental illnesses, read this Catalyst article.

Does HIPAA help or hurt patients?

The HIPAA law is long and complicated and most people, including many mental health professionals, do not understand the law’s provisions. Our office routinely receives phone calls from patients and family members alike that are frustrated by the privacy laws concerning patient medical records.

While it makes sense for patient medical records to be protected, there are situations that call into question whether absolute confidentiality is the best option for patients and the public. This is a question facing the Governor-appointed panel investigating the senseless deaths of 32 students at Virginia Tech. In an effort to understand what caused that tragedy and to prevent another one like it, should the panel be able to review the medical records of the deceased gunman?

Navigating federal privacy laws to help a loved one

Both family members and mental health care providers conservatively interpret confidentiality laws like HIPAA.

This means mental health providers often do not share information with relatives because they think sharing violates confidentiality laws. And family members often do not ask for information, because they do not think they have the right to be informed.

Knowing the law may help family members convince providers to share vital information about their relatives. Read our overview of HIPAA , which includes some creative legal ways to share needed information.

Strong privacy law, weak treatment law

Very strong privacy laws and very weak mental health treatment laws are keeping Lindsey Rice from saving her mother.

Lindsey Rice said she couldn't get her mother committed to the state hospital or get foster care, and meanwhile voices were telling her mother to pull her own teeth. Amid all that grief, the daughter said, it didn't help that her mother would be in and out of hospitals in Southern Oregon, and the family couldn't keep track of her because medical personnel were trying to follow HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Once, Rice said, her mother walked out of a hospital without getting a proper discharge, but, because of the privacy law, the hospital didn't call Lindsey. Later, she said, the police found Rachel and brought her home. ''She was just being released into a world of paranoia, and it wasn't good,'' Rice said.