Ooh, this just burns me up.  The whole point of HIPAA is that the PATIENT is 
the master of his/her medical information.  To hear that a mother is having 
to cart a three-inch binder of medical records to-and-from her various 
appointments, becuase the docs are refusing to share information back-and- 
forth, is ludicrous.  It is also a HIPAA violation.

I urge this mom -- who is obviously no slouch in the take-charge category -- 
to take a look at www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/howtofile.htm .  The Office for 
Civil Rights, in the US Health and Human Services Dept, is charged with 
enforcement of HIPAA.  Mom does not have a private cause of action (she 
can't sue these doctors' offices) -- but the OCR can investigate, based upon 
her complaint.  Aggregious violations call for criminal penalties to be 
assessed.


Liz Brooks, JD, IBCLC
Wyndmoor, PA, USA

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