RECENT CHANGES TO HIPAA LAW IMPACT ADVANCE DIRECTIVES
In February 2011, the Obama Administration added a civil money penalty to HIPAA legislation. Now that there are "teeth" in the HIPAA law, hospital and health care provider policy may be subject to change. Policies may tighten up, requiring that the privacy laws under HIPAA be followed to the letter.
What this means to the American public is that now, more than ever, adults of the age of majority should have appropriate advance directives in place. Should a patient not have advance directives in place, hospitals and health care providers may be even less willing to share medical information about the patient to the family, even in times of crisis or life-threatening illness.
(In Connecticut, the appropriate advance directive would be the designation of a "Health Care Representative" that appoints a surrogate decision maker for medical decisions, in the event the patient is unable to convey his or her own wishes.)
Although it is not unusual to "think about these things" when we get older, our young adults when they become of the age of majority (18 in CT) should legally designate a health care representative to make medical decisions for them. They will then have given the required release of their personal medical information to a loved one, in the event they become unconscious, or are in an accident and require medical attention and cannot make decisions for themselves.