I was waiting to take my peak flow again, post-treatment, when I stumbled upon this:
All of the big pharmacy chains in the US hand over sensitive medical records to law enforcement without a warrant—and some will do so without even running the requests by a legal professional, according to a congressional investigation.
They include the seven largest pharmacy chains in the country: CVS Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Cigna, Optum Rx, Walmart Stores, Inc., The Kroger Company, and Rite Aid Corporation. The lawmakers also spoke with Amazon Pharmacy.
As it happens, I use or have used most of those pharmacies. I think it’s time for a campaign to stop this sharing of sensitive medical information, completely against what HIPAA dictates.
For those not familiar with HIPAA, it’s a rule of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), that is SUPPOSED to protect your medical and pharmacy information from access by people not connected to providing the treatment, or who have a legitimate need to know (those who pay out from your health insurance claim, for example).
I have to be re-trained on it every year, as part of my work with selling health insurance. Violations are considered VERY serious.
But, apparently not so much when the offending agency is the Federal Government’s Justice Department, or, for that matter, ANY law enforcement agency.
Gee, that just fills me with all kinds of comfort - because the legal arm of government NEVER exceeds their mandated reach, right?