HIPAA- A Barrier Between You & Your Medical Records?

Back in 1996, when the Health Insurance and Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law, the intention of the law (especially Title IV) was to protect a patient’s right to privacy, reduce fraudulent activity, streamline data systems and improve the health insurance system overall.

For years prior to the law’s passage, there was no federal standard for obtaining your medical records. Without the patient’s knowledge, records were being given to insurance companies, sent to landfills or just flat-out lost. Alerted by highly publicized lapses in medical record confidentiality (a garbage truck crash that sent medical records flying all over the highways, a doctor selling a computer without deleting patient information from the hard drive, and the list went on and on), lawmakers decided a better system was needed. So the whole theory behind HIPAA regs are that your medical records are just that, yours, […]

Who Needs Tort Reform When You Have a Functioning Court System?

Proving once more that no tort reform is necessary in Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court of PA announced yesterday that medical malpractice cases are down 40.8% statewide, and down over 50% in Philadelphia County.

Med mal cases have been on a steady decline since 2003 when a rule change required a medical expert certify all malpractice cases to ensure that there was a deviation from the standard of care. The rule change also required cases to be heard in the same county where the alleged harm occurred, which eliminated so-called “venue shopping.”

In a release, Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille said, “The latest statistics provide additional evidence that the sharp drop in medical malpractice litigation, which began in 2003, was not a temporary correction, but a sustained response to the procedural rule changes adopted by the Supreme Court and the statutory changes enacted by the General Assembly.” He went on to say that “Ongoing review and enhancements to our procedures will ensure that both plaintiffs and defendants can rely on an accessible court system where professional liability actions are impartially and promptly resolved. […]