Healthcare Information

[Tarrant64]

Hey all, quick question. My fiance's business is switching to a new healthcare provider (maybe just plan, but I think it's just a whole new company).

Apparently they turn in their healthcare information to her boss (small company, 20-25 people, no HR or healthcare direct contact person). He's creepy as it is towards her, but does he actually need to see this information? Wouldn't her boss just need to set it all up, and the rest is between the employees and the healthcare provider?

Just doesn't seem right.

 

[MoPHo]

My dad's boss used to get all the health information and would look at it to make sure it was kosher. He used to tell the employees that if there was something they weren't comfortable with him checking, to put it in an envelope and seal it. He would just look it over to make sure the employees filled it out properly and didn't miss out on any of the forms.

This was in a hospital so no one really cared about their information (history, Rx's, etc.) getting out...but it could be a violation of HIPPA if there's health information on it...

 

[summit]

what is healthcare information? like medical records? cause i believe that is illegal.

 

[Tarrant64]

Originally posted by: Summit
what is healthcare information? like medical records? cause i believe that is illegal.

I'm not exactly sure, I'm assuming forms that would require old records or history. I haven't seen the forms myself. I just know her family has had medical problems and has faced discrimination in the past.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: MoPHo

This was in a hospital so no one really cared about their information (history, Rx's, etc.) getting out...but it could be a violation of HIPPA if there's health information on it...

aye aye, cap'n.

iirc, no boss should ever be looking at health records. though I've never worked in private/small business environment, so I don't know. wherever I've worked, however, it is a big no-no.

FWIW, I've worked in 2 hospitals, though my job/department was never medical. (research). simply because one lab was in the actual hospital proper, I had to go through HIPPA training about how to protect patient's records when I was a new employee. The funny thing is that if I even saw a patient's medical record it would have been a huge violation, considering my work.

hell, talking about cases in the hallway/elevators is a violation, apparently.

 

[wiredspider]

Why would the boss get any medical records at all? It should just be forms for basic info for the employee to fill out to start the policy. If she has a new doc under the plan then they can just request the docs from the old doc.

 

[MoPHo]

Originally posted by: zinfamous
hell, talking about cases in the hallway/elevators is a violation, apparently.

Yessir. I got slammed for this when I worked in an ER. Patient told me to tell her nurse (who was out in the hallway) that the medicine the patient just got was making her sick. Her mother was talking to the nurse and when I told the nurse, mom freaked out that I had said what medication the patient was given. She was screaming it at the top of her lungs in the ER so everyone eventually knew what her daughter was given. And then I was written up by the charge nurse against everyone's (but the mother's) wishes.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: wiredspider
Why would the boss get any medical records at all? It should just be forms for basic info for the employee to fill out to start the policy. If she has a new doc under the plan then they can just request the docs from the old doc.

That's what I thinking. Most likely he'll be getting demographics and other info for setting up a policy. One can look at protected health info for duties within the scope of their job. As her boss/HR/insurance guy, the necessary info to setup the policies with the new provider would fall within those guidelines.

 

[Tarrant64]

I saw the form last night and a lot of it was basic info, but there was still a lot of areas asking for past history, medical stays, etc. She just filled in what was needed to get her information in. I told her if they need more information the healthcare provider or whoever can contact her directly. So we're going with that.

 

[RKS]

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: HIPAA

 

[Tarrant64]

Originally posted by: RKS
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: HIPAA

Yeah, but do you know how often that is violated/ignored when you take everything in that act literally? Happens all the time. lol

If he ends up using the information that's apparent in any way against her we'll talk about going after the boss, otherwise I can understand if he's the one that turns the paperwork in or whatever so he needs something.

In more details though, they are switching from Coventry to Blue.