HIPAA Violation

[james1701]

Do you think its a HIPAA violation if a person from X company just randomly sends an IM on Facebook to a person asking if they have X piece of equipment from this medical company? They are not a their friends list, they could be asking anyone.

 

[FirNaTine]

What's a HIPPA?

 

[rcpratt]

What.

 

[Rakehellion]

What is the piece of equipment and why are they asking?

 

[zinfamous]

As far as I know, HIPPA only involves patient privacy. This doesn't sound like any kind of patient/medical history information.

 

[ahenkel]

What's a HIPPA?

It's a health information privacy act. It limits what medical information can be shared and with who it can be shared.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Do you think its a HIPPA violation if a person from X company just randomly sends an IM on Facebook to a person asking if they have X piece of equipment from this medical company? They are not a their friends list, they could be asking anyone.

No it is not.

 

[rudeguy]

What is the piece of equipment and why are they asking?

Penis pump

 

[FirNaTine]

It's a health information privacy act. It limits what medical information can be shared and with who it can be shared.

No, it's not.

Look it up.

There is no such animal.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

What's a HIPPA?

It's HIPAA. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The relevant portion covers patient privacy by covered entities. Those would be providers, health care institutions, insurance companies, companies who dispose of health related confidential information and the like. If I as a provider were to give or sell personally identifiable information of someone to whom I provided professional services I'd be violating HIPAA.

 

[NutBucket]

I don't see any patient names involved so what's the problem?

 

[FirNaTine]

It's HIPAA. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The relevant portion covers patient privacy by covered entities. Those would be providers, health care institutions, insurance companies, companies who dispose of health related confidential information and the like. If I as a provider were to give or sell personally identifiable information of someone to whom I provided professional services I'd be violating HIPAA.

Darn, you!

I know exactly what that is, but I like messing with people who claim to know what it is, but can't even get the name right.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

It's a health information privacy act. It limits what medical information can be shared and with who it can be shared.

Not exactly. If you were to learn that your neighbor had cancer there is nothing in hipaa that prevents you from blabbing it to the world unless you provided health related services to the person.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Darn, you!

I know exactly what that is, but I like messing with people who claim to know what it is, but can't even get the name right.

Heh, I sometimes called hippo, because it's enormously cumbersome

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Are we talking about someone under medical care who has equipment for that care getting a random message from someone they don't know who is aware of their condition asking about equipment or something else?

 

[IamDavid]

No, not a violation. I deal with HIPPA daily.

 

[DrPizza]

No, not a violation. I deal with HIPPA daily.

It's HIPAA.

 

[rudeguy]

It's HIPAA.

Maybe it's a HIPAA violation but not a HIPPA violation

 

[nageov3t]

I don't see why it would be, unless the question was phrased like "hey, I really need Equipment X because I need to treat Patient Y's anal warts."

the fact that it's a weird way to request a piece of equipment is more of a departmental/procedural question, not a violation of federal standards.

 

[Matthiasa]

Just asking about it in a general sense would not be.
However as pointed out if names or other PHI were used or if the machine stores that information and was given it would be.

If the person being asked is the one that it is about if they tell it also wouldn't be. If it was asked to said person about a third person and the person said yes or no it may be.

 

[Humpy]

It's HIPAA.

Shut up. He was just changing the subject to a genus of decapod crustaceans in the family Hippidae.

 

[PottedMeat]

say you reported the question as a hipaa violation, see what they say

 

[Strk]

It's possible if the person got it for/from a medical procedure. However, if the person is posting on Facebook about X item, then no, they already made it public.

 

[Matthiasa]

Also, if it actually was, not reporting it is also a violation.

 

[Gooberlx2]

I'm guessing OP is asking because person from company X is soliciting Mr. Random to buy some piece of equipment related to whatever condition he has?

I mean, it's possible a violation was involved but there are a bazillion other legit avenues for company X to obtain enough info to target Mr. Random for the product.