Home >  Health & Science

Tuesday, April 15, 2003

By Christopher Snowbeck, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

The new federal privacy rules for health information that took effect yesterday are being interpreted differently by different hospitals, doctors and pharmacies. Here is a list of some changes being put in place by Pittsburgh organizations because of the new rules.

White boards

Information listed on dry-erase boards used by hospital staff to help track patients is often in public view. At the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, white boards will no longer list patient conditions and, in some cases, physician names. That's because knowing a patient's doctor can sometimes reveal information about the illness, said Angel Hoffman, director of UPMC's HIPAA Program Office.

Post cards

Doctor offices often remind patients of an appointment by sending a post card. While the government doesn't prohibit this practice and some providers might continue it, Magee-Womens Hospital thinks it strays too close to the privacy line. It's safer for mailed correspondences to be enclosed in an envelope, said Ann Mathias, compliance officer for the hospital. "I've been giving conservative advice: 'Don't use post cards,' " she said.

Spouses

Like other insurers, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield will not discuss a bill with a patient's spouse unless that patient has authorized it. Those authorizations will last for one year or any period of time requested by the patient.

Switchboards

Patients will have more control over the information provided to those who call hospitals, whether it's family members or reporters seeking information about accident victims. At Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, if a patient chooses to be listed in the hospital directory, callers will be connected to the patient's room. But the hospital will no longer give out the phone numbers for those patients, said Kathy Broskin, director of corporate compliance.

Walls

The privacy rules ask health-care providers to make reasonable attempts at preventing the inadvertent disclosure of personal health information. It doesn't require that doctor offices make structural changes, but Ann Pascal, practice administrator at Associates in Gastroenterology of Pittsburgh, decided it was a good idea to construct a wall that will separate the office's two scheduling bays. Similarly, Eckerd drug stores have installed dividers in their pharmacies so that patients will have more privacy if they ask a question when paying for a medicine.

Phone messages

The new rules ask health-care providers to limit the amount of information left on answering machines, because the messages could be heard by someone other than the patient. At the West Penn Allegheny Health System, that means hospital staff are only to leave their name, the name of the medical office or hospital and a phone number with a request for a return call. "We won't get into any more specifics than that," said Robert Michalski, vice president for system compliance. "Even if it's an oncology practice calling, we're asking them to say 'This is Dr. Smith's office' rather than 'This is Dr. Smith's oncology office.' "

Computer screens

Children's Hospital is ordering computer screen covers so that hospital visitors can't read patient information. Hospital officials did privacy and security walk-throughs to make sure computer screens were turned away from public areas, said Jodi Innocent, corporate compliance and privacy officer. The new screens provide a little more protection, Innocent said, by obscuring views for people standing more than a few feet from the screen.