Question

In July 2011, Kimberly White requested Tufts Medical Center in Boston to send a form for a disability claim. Instead, the hospital sent four pages of medical records about her hysterectomy to a shared fax machine at her workplace, which her colleagues read. White felt embarrassed and that she “can't go back there [work]” and that she “couldn't live with knowing what these people knew about me.” White filed a complaint in Plymouth County Superior Court. However, the hospital denied any wrongdoing, stating that, “In this matter, we complied with a patient's request to share information. We firmly believe we responded to the patient's request appropriately.”

Did the hospital violate HIPAA?

What damages could White request in this situation?

Answer 1

A. Yes the hospital violated HIPAA ( Health insurance portability and accountability act ) .

It is a law which designed to provide privacy standards to protect patients medical records and other health informations.

B. The minimum necessary rule is one of the common cause of HIPAA violations. Here a large portion of a patient's medical record is exposed to the data breach and disclosure of patient details , improper disposal of protected health information (PHI ) , sharing of PHI to a shared fax machine without permission , mishandling and mismailing of PHI .