The New York Times looks at the ways “people use, misuse or abuse HIPAA.” For example, in 2012, a woman called a Pennsylvania hospital to alert staff of her mother’s medical history, only to have the staff refuse to take the information, citing HIPAA. As a result, her mother was nearly given a medication to which she was allergic. In such scenarios, said Carol Levine of the United Hospital Fund’s Families and Health Care Project, HIPAA has become “an all-purpose excuse for things people don’t want to talk about.” Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) has introduced legislation that would clarify the law, noting “it’s just misunderstanding what is and isn’t allowed under HIPAA.” (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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