Suspend the HIPAA law for this shooting

[Cheyenne RN,BSHS]

I know that the shooting today in Orlando has grieved us all with 50 people violently killed. However the one thing I am surprised most about is that the White House has waived enforcing HIPAA guidelines so that the dead or injured can be identified sooner. I have thought that this would be a good idea with any mass shooting. But it still perplexes me. Why can this not be done in any situation this grievous? What are your thoughts?

Obama: Shooter who killed 5

[MunoRN, RN]

(Copied from the duplicate thread)

Neither the White House or HHS waived any part of HIPAA in Orlando since there was no reason to, it's not particularly clear at this point why the mayor of Orlando claimed a waiver was needed or that one was granted.

According to Dyer, the mayor of Orlando, a hospital CEO complained to him that they couldn't tell people who were calling the hospital inquiring about their family members that they were there in the hospital or their general condition, even though HIPAA clearly allows for this information to be given, no waiver required. Dyer then for some reason lied to reporters that he had requested and been granted a waiver, which never happened.

Most of the original press coverage of the "waiver" has been corrected today:

Update, June 13, 2016: On Sunday, Buddy Dyer, the mayor of Orlando, stated on CNNthat he had asked for the White House to waive certain HIPAA regulations in order to encourage faster sharing of information with victims' family members and indicated that the White House had complied. In fact, the White House did not waive any portion of HIPAA regulations on Sunday. The Department of Health and Human Services stated Monday that the necessary information sharing was already allowed under the HIPAA law as it is written, as the law states that medical professionals are allowed to share information without consent in an emergency circumstance as long as they exercise professional judgment."

Obama's choice to waive HIPAA in Orlando would likely have helped families and loved ones during the crisis.

Coverage of the bad coverage by a source reasonably familiar with HIPAA:

Confusion over whether Orlando providers needed HIPAA waiver - Modern Healthcare Modern Healthcare business news, research, data and events

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Neither the White House or HHS waived any part of HIPAA in Orlando since there was no reason to, it's not particularly clear at this point why the mayor of Orlando claimed a waiver was needed or that one was granted.

According to Dyer, the mayor of Orlando, a hospital CEO complained to him that they couldn't tell people who were calling the hospital inquiring about their family members that they were there in the hospital or their general condition, even though HIPAA clearly allows for this information to be given, no waiver required. Dyer then for some reason lied to reporters that he had requested and been granted a waiver, which never happened.

Most of the original press coverage of the "waiver" has been corrected today:

Obama's choice to waive HIPAA in Orlando would likely have helped families and loved ones during the crisis.

Coverage of the bad coverage by a source reasonably familiar with HIPAA:

Confusion over whether Orlando providers needed HIPAA waiver - Modern Healthcare Modern Healthcare business news, research, data and events

Thank you. The OP confused me. HIPAA doesn't prevent notifying the next of kin in an emergency.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Merged duplicate threads

[Cheyenne RN,BSHS]

Merged duplicate threads

Thank you for placing my entry in the correct place and I don't think that anything came out as I intended it to in my OP. I am heartbroken for so many killed and injured for no reason. I get frustrated when families are trying to find out information and the word HIPAA comes up and they can't find out anything.

Looking at the passion and empathy I felt and feel for the loss of innocent lives I think everything I meant to say came out backwards. Next time I will just keep it to myself.

[Susie2310]

Thank you for placing my entry in the correct place and I don't think that anything came out as I intended it to in my OP. I am heartbroken for so many killed and injured for no reason. I get frustrated when families are trying to find out information and the word HIPAA comes up and they can't find out anything.

Looking at the passion and empathy I felt and feel for the loss of innocent lives I think everything I meant to say came out backwards. Next time I will just keep it to myself.

Cheyenne, I think I understand the point that you are making about HIPAA, and that is that sometimes the enactment of it's provisions by health care providers (whether they apply the law correctly or not) results in obstructing/preventing patients from easy access to family members/significant others who they would wish to be by their side and who wish to be by their side during their illness/injury. I agree with you. If this is what you were saying, the meaning of your OP came through clearly to me.