The fear of violating HIPAA, as with many such fears, was not necessarily well placed. A CBTS is an extension of operations to any number of healthcare providers, including hospitals, physician groups, and pharmacies. The testing would be a healthcare service that is part of operations. From that perspective, a CBTS is similar to setting up a new office. As such, it seems that the attention garnered by COVID-19 was just thrown up as a barrier to getting needed care.

What people often dont realize, Pritts said, is that HIPAA was created to keep data safe as it moves between health insurers and providers, so data that doesnt interact with that ecosystem is often not protected at all. On the other hand, information that does fall under the laws purview is often more protected than people realize.

As some cities and states quickly recruit retired healthcare professionals, new medical school graduates and clinicians from other regions to assist in their COVID-19 responses, it’s critical to ensure these workers understand the importance of protecting patient information, says privacy attorney Iliana Peters of the law firm Polsinelli.“The HIPAA rules do require that individuals who will be interacting with protected health information are trained on the requirements of the HIPAA rules,” she says in an interview with Information Security Media Group.HIPAA training requirements have not been relaxed in any way as part of recent HIPAA provision waivers issued by the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office for Civil Rights in recent weeks as the healthcare sector battles the COVID-19 outbreak, she notes.

A medical resident who treated her believes she would have gotten better care if she spoke English.In the ER, where no one has enough time, particularly now, the resident said he could tell that no one wanted to work with an interpreter to take down the womans medical history. He placed his phone on the womans shoulder and dialed the interpreter service on speakerphone. Between the N95 mask covering his mouth and the helmet covering his ears, it was difficult to speak clearly and to hear.

Put Patients over Paperwork:CMS is temporarily eliminating paperwork requirements and allowing clinicians to spend more time with patients. Medicare will now cover respiratory-related devices and equipment for any medical reason determined by clinicians so that patients can get the care they need; previously Medicare only covered them under certain circumstances. During the public health emergency, hospitals will not be required to have written policies on processes and visitation of patients who are in COVID-19 isolation. Hospitals will also have more time to provide patients a copy of their medical record.

A covered health care provider that wants to use audio or video communication technology to provide telehealth to patients during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency can use any non-public facing remote communication product that is available to communicate with patients. This exercise of discretion applies to telehealth provided for any reason, regardless of whether the telehealth service is related to the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions related to COVID-19.The announcement offered a few non-HIPAA compliant services that could now be used to communicate with patients including: Apple FaceTime, Facebook Messenger video chat, Google Hangouts video, or Skype. T

In California, one ER doctor who works at multiple hospitals in a hard-hit county told BuzzFeed News, those medical records aren’t being audited by anyone at the state and local level currently and some people arent even testing those people who are dead.We just don’t know. The numbers are grossly underreported. I know for a fact that weve had three deaths in one county where only one is listed on the website, the doctor said.

Together, these final rules mark the most extensive healthcare data sharing policies the federal government has implemented, requiring both public and private entities to share health information between patients and other parties while keeping that information private and secure, a top priority for the Administration.

“From the start of our efforts to put patients and value at the center of our healthcare system, we’ve been clear: Patients should have control of their records, period. Now that’s becoming a reality,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. “These rules are the start of a new chapter in how patients experience American healthcare, opening up countless new opportunities for them to improve their own health, find the providers that meet their needs, and drive quality through greater coordination.”