Donald trump Walter Reed Medical Center and HIPAA.
Donald Trump contracted the coronavirus and was sent to Walter Reed Medical Center. His medical team stated that the President’s health was improving and continued his treatment in the White House. The surprising thing was that Doctors declined to give any information regarding his health because of HIPAA.
What is HIPAA:
HIPAA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This was legislated in 1996 and was implemented in 2003. HIPAA is a federal healthcare privacy law that will protect individuals’ health information from a release by health care providers without the individual's consent.
HIPAA rules “essentially provide for the privacy and security of personal health information held by traditional healthcare providers, namely: doctors, hospitals, pharmacies,” said Nicolas Terry, the executive director of the Hall Center for Law and Health at Indiana University.
Scenario Example:
Suppose you contract a deadly disease, and you go to a covered entity hospital in the USA. The hospital treats you. Some other lab runs your tests, and you get medicine from some pharmacy. Now in total, three entities have your clinical information. The hospital, the labs, and the pharmacy. Now your all your information can be shared with the public unless HIPAA protects you. HIPAA will restrict the sharing of some of your medical information, such as test results and current health status.
Exceptions in HIPAA:
HIPAA has exceptions. The medical record subject can authorize a healthcare provider to share the information generally if they choose to. The law has provisions by which information can be shared with the legal system, public-health authorities, and other authorities. The individual must be taking treatment from a covered entity for HIPAA to protect their medical information.
Is HIPAA protecting Donald Trump’s medical information?
The physician of White House, Sean Conley, shared specific medical information regarding Donald Trump, such as his heart rate and blood pressure. When the physician was asked about the President’s last negative corona test and his lung scans, the physician neglected to answer by saying, “HIPAA rules and regulations that restrict me in sharing certain things for his safety and his health.” In a nutshell, HIPAA is protecting the President’s clinical information.
Why is Donald Trump’s last negative corona test important?
The President is regularly tested for corona, and the people he meets with are also regularly checked. Knowing about the last negative corona test of Donald Trump is vital to comprehend his illness timeline. Doing this will tell us about the people he met with and which people are most likely to have contracted the virus from him.
Why is Donald Trump’s information being protected?
The fact that Donald Trump is receiving health care from a covered entity, his information will be protected by the law. The President was treated at Walter Reed hospital, and the doctors working there may be protected by HIPAA. Hence any information they have about the President is protected by HIPAA.
The solution?
People have a right to know about their President’s health. All Donald Trump has to do is give his consent to Walter Reed physicians to share his information with the public.
References:
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(forbes, 2020)
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(marketwatch, 2020)
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Tobi Onyekweli
I’m Tobi Onyekweli, the founder of Kweli Solutions. We are an IT training firm that specializes in providing quality training and appropriate career guides in areas such as Cloud, Database, Cybersecurity, and Software Engineering. Our style and pattern can be compared to none in the industry we gladly represent. We are the leading firm in IT, and we have successfully introduced innovative ways of teaching IT courses. We will be glad to help you find your feet in your chosen career path.
