#hipaa

[fine-fletchings]

Trump’s DOJ Made Chilling Demand to Hospitals in War on Trans Kids

Donald Trump’s hunt for trans people has expanded to a terrifying degree.

In case medical care in the US wasn't enough of a horror show already... our fascist government is trying to collect the kind of data that none of us really want them to have. Because while it would be nice to think Big Brother was watching out for us, history says otherwise.

If anything, this discourages me from getting proper necessary medical care

[onlytiktoks]

[gwydionmisha]

Tennessee House passes de facto transgender registry bill

Republican lawmakers say it’s about health data. Critics say it’s about tracking trans people.

There is no non-genocide reason to do this.

[lizardho]

hello. My main fear preventing me from going to therapy is the therapist telling/sharing my information i give with others in my real which then affects me negativly in any way.

I know there's like atleast some rule to not tell strangers less your fired, but I also worry for parents or schools or goverment etc. Conservative parent doesn't believe in mental health(normal ppl or r-word and nothing else) and I generally have had bad experiences with social workers telling the things I tell them to others. I fear how I might be treated or how freely info like me being autistic might spread or be used. Do you know how much therapists usually share what they find with such people/organisations?

Obligatory “therapist but not your therapist” disclaimer, then the answer is: it depends. In the U.S. therapists are bound by HIPAA, although recent moves with the federal government may impact how HIPAA works going forward at-present it means that people cannot share “PHI” or personal health information unless you permit them to do so. This is impacted by multiple variables - for example, at one of the sites I worked at we made parents sign a confidentiality agreement before treating their kids to avoid having to disclose information to parents as the legal guardians of a child (and by extension their PHI). Our contracts permitted us to work with parents if a child was going to engage in behavior that could reasonably endanger them, such as meeting an internet stranger for sex or using powerful drugs. At that site I only ever involved parents in a child patient’s care twice - once with a child’s permission to discuss an ongoing stressor in their life, and the other after a child expressed serious suicidal ideation and I needed dad to know to safely secure his firearms.

I also worked at a site that provided forensic evaluations for kids going into the Juvenile justice system. In those cases we often could not disclose information to parents but were obligated to disclose information to the courts. This was always disclosed beforehand and almost always worked in the patient’s favor, but sometimes kids would confess to crimes they had plead “not guilty” to and that would get sent to the judge overseeing their case. In forensic cases we were not allowed to share information about the person receiving the assessment with them or their caregivers as our client was legally considered to be the Arizona Office of Corrections.

With adult patients, my work with patients who had committed sex offenses had some unusual aspects related to confidentiality. Patients were not permitted to choose to seek treatment, and often refusal to see treatment was considered a violation of parole, so many patients were being treated against their will and with limited confidentiality due to the nature of their probation arrangements, which permitted us to share information with probation officers if needed. It also gave probation officers access to therapy documentation, which was an additionally confounding factor. But these were factors which were known to patients prior to engaging in treatment, so while it is ethically dubious it was still allowed.

In general, therapy patients who are adults and not involved with the legal system in some way are protected by HIPAA, where information cannot be shared barring extreme circumstances (imminent risk of danger to self/others) unless the information is de-identified (meaning the information used cannot be so specific as to identify you to others.) Some states have extended these same protections to minors, although not all of them have. A good general rule of thumb to use is “If the state lost the civil war, it does not protect the confidentiality of minors by default.”

HIPAA protections do not mean information cannot be shared - it does mean, however, that if it is shared you can stand to win a lawsuit against the provider in question depending on the details of how it was shared. I hope this helps! Feel free to ask more questions in the comments or to DM me if you so desire :-)

[chamacafeahorrible]

whenever I look at the original color configuration for epic I’m just like good god how do you people live like this? it’s like eyewatering bright cyan and neon yellow. I’ve changed mine to be a nice combination of blues and greys. much more pleasant.

[snarp]

Meditech - the medical portal contractor my local hospital uses - doesn't know how to sanitize form inputs. I have some doubts about how secure my records are!

(In addition to quotation marks, it throws errors on "| = } { ] [ > <". Apparently-permitted: "^ % * / \ + - _ $ @ # ; : ' ! ` ~")

[yipyipallyall]

Well, that's dark.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Texas doctor charged for leaking health records of transgender kids to far-right extremist

Eithan Haim allegedly stole private health records of transgender kids who weren’t his patients and gave their medical information to an ant

Christopher Wiggins at The Advocate:

A Houston-based surgeon stands accused of betraying the privacy of transgender kids who weren’t under his care by stealing their medical information and handing it over to a far-right extremist who vehemently opposes transgender rights. The federal indictment, unsealed on Monday, details Dr. Eithan Haim’s alleged unauthorized access and disclosure of sensitive patient information at Texas Children’s Hospital. Haim, 34, completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine and reportedly reactivated his access to the hospital’s electronic records system in April 2023. He is accused of illicitly obtaining patient names, treatment codes, and attending physician details, which he then shared with conservative activist Christopher Rufo. Rufo, known for his hardline stance against transgender rights, used the information to publish an exposé claiming the hospital continued to provide gender-affirming care for minors despite a public announcement to halt such services.

The indictment alleges Haim accessed this sensitive information under false pretenses and with malicious intent, aiming to harm Texas Children’s Hospital. Haim’s actions followed a 2022 opinion from Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, labeling gender-affirming care for minors as a form of child abuse. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, subsequently directed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate parents seeking such care for their children. In response, Texas Children’s Hospital announced it would pause all gender-affirming services for minors to comply with these directives and protect its staff and patients from potential legal consequences.

Dr. Eithan Haim, who leaked the health records of trans kids to far-right anti-LGBTQ+ extremist Christopher Rufo, is facing charges of violation patient privacy.