The provider-patient dynamic has long been plagued by paternalistic decision-making, timid patients, and communication failures. I believe that the system is the problem, not thepeople who comprise it. And the system is inextricably linked to the insurance companies, the business of hospital management, and the exhausting balancing of practice profits against patient savings.
Erin recently sat down with Karen Litzy, a physical therapist in NYC and the host of the Healthy Wealthy & Smart podcast, for a candid conversation about what it’s like to live in chronic pain.
HIPAA has two general components: privacy and security. Most of our clients do a great job with patient privacy: they know not to discuss PHI, and they are generally committed to ensuring that their patients’ information remains private. However, HIPAA does not always place substance above form – and for good reason, if the breach examples provided above are any indication.
While this certainly doesn’t only happen in physical therapy, I use PT as my example here. In working with providers who are establishing their own practices, I have been routinely astounded to hear that they have relied upon (and paid for) the legal advice of non-lawyers. Remember:the fact that something is common practice doesn’t make it ok.
