Given the recent implementation of HIPAA, this article might be of interest
to all practitioners.

You can click on the link below to access the entire article.

<A HREF="http://www.academyanalyticarts.org/Kava18.html">The New HIPAA-cratic
Oath for Healthcare Professionals</A>
(www.academyanalyticarts.org/Kava18.html)

...Passed in Congress with broad bipartisan support, the privacy rules of the
Health Insurance Portabiltity and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) went
into effect this past April 14th for most covered entities....

....with the enactment of HIPAA, there has been a radical and dramatic shift
in the nature of the relationship between government, professional
associations, and the citizenry....

... the AAPS warned the HHS secretary that the (HIPAA) regulations,

        "...would have unintended consequences: the worst would be to enable
        if not guarantee wholesale invasions of privacy. We fully support the
        effort in Congress to repeal this work of the previous
administration."
                The American Association of Physician and Surgeons

...The Institute for Health Freedom, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington
D.C. that analyzes health issues, has made known its grave concerns about the
HIPAA privacy provisions. After studying the 1,200-page regulation, president
Sue Blevins said,

         "The rule does not provide true medical privacy. Rather it actually
        weakens individuals' ability to restrict access to their medical
records."

.... The Academy's Board is opposed to the new HIPAA-cratic oath that
requires the entry of personal and private information into a nationwide computer
data base where it can be accessed by dozens of government agencies, thousands of
bureaucrats, pharmaceutical corporations, private insurance companies, police
agencies, foreign government officials, and others....without the person's
consent. According to the AAPS's analysis of HIPAA, this is what happens to
information in the HIPAA system. ...


...Is there a HIPAA-potamus in the middle of psychology's living room that no
one is talking about? The HIPAA is talked about in terms of how to be
compliant as a covered entity...... but what about the potamus? ... the option of
being a non-covered entity. Submerged in the murky waters of 1,200 pages of
federal regulations is a river horse  (HIPAA potamios) question that generates much
 confusion in the healthcare community: What is a covered v. non-covered
entity in the HIPAA system? ...

... Last month, the Academy's Board invited Ms. Karen Grotberg, J.D. and Mr.
Lawrence Jordan, J.D. to speak with us about HIPAA and its privacy provisions.
Ms. Grotberg is quite knowledgeable about HIPAA's rules and regulations as
she specializes in employee benefits, including healthcare related plans. She
represents clients before governmental agencies (such as the IRS and Department
of Labor) and has counseled a wide variety of employers from Fortune 500
corporations to sole proprietors, not-for-profit organizations, and both public and
private entities. Mr. Jordan specializes in  intellectual property rights,
e.g., the legal protection of creative ideas via copyright and trademarks. He
represents artists, poets, musicians, authors, and inventors. He has been
involved with the Academy since its early beginnings. (Ms. Grotberg (Detroit) and
Mr. Jordan (Ann Arbor)  are with the law firm of Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer & Weiss,
P.C. in Michigan.) ...

...There was a second closely related question considered at the Board
meeting: If a provider steps into HIPAA by virtue of electronic billing, will (s)he
always be a covered entity for HIPAA purposes even if he/she reverts back to
paper billing?  It is Ms. Grotberg's opinion that the provider would cease to
be a covered entity if (s)he reverts back to paper billing -- ...

.........

Roxanna