During the months her mother was a critical care patient at Birmingham’s Baptist Medical Center Montclair this year, Rhonda Richards had plenty to be concerned about.
However, Richards, a member of First Baptist Church, Birmingham, said not having to worry about her mother receiving excessive phone calls and visitors helped alleviate some of her stress.
“She was so sick for so long, I think it was helpful that visitors couldn’t just call her or come by,” Richards said. “Although friends and extended family mean well, more often than not a patient needs lots of rest.”
Because of a privacy act that is now enforced, Richards’ mother’s room number was not public information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in August 1996, and hospitals and doctors’ offices were required to be in compliance with the regulations by April 2003.
According to Phyllis Boone, chief privacy officer for Baptist Health System (BHS), the act has changed what information can be released on a patient, not the visiting policies.
“For BHS to release a patient’s room number, that patient must have agreed to be included in the hospital directory,” she said. “Of course, the patient may give his room number to whomever he chooses.”
Boone said while there was some confusion at first for visitors, people seem comfortable with the changes now.
“As part of the BHS admission process, all patients are asked if they wish to be included in the directory,” she said. “Patients should answer ‘yes’ to this question to allow us to share their room number. The hospital can only release information such as room numbers and conditions, if a patient does not opt out of the directory. You personally can share your room number with family and friends.”
Marcia Twitty, who works with marketing and public relations for BHS’ Baptist Monclair, said the act ensures that each patient determines his or her own level of privacy.
“Now, when you enter the hospital, how confidential you want your visit to be is your decision,” she said. “If you want to be confidential, you are, and if you want visitors they can come during the regular visiting hours.”
Cathy Fain, corporate compliance officer for Baptist Health in Montgomery, said it can get sticky when a patient decides not to be listed in the directory and they need to understand the implications.
“If they say no then we put a symbol by their name in our computer,” she said. “If someone calls and asks for them we say that they don’t show up in our system. We can’t even acknowledge that they are a patient.
“This legislation didn’t mean to get in the way of patient care or build barriers. It was to stop the mass marketing of patient information,” Fain added.
Fain said if a patient declines to be included in the hospital directory but then gives out his or her room number to lots of friends and family it can create conflict.
“If that patient has visitors come and they forget the room number and ask at the desk, we can’t tell them if the patient is even here,” she said. “They’re caught in limbo because they know the patient is here and the hospital becomes the bad guy.”
Encouraging spiritual support
And while the new regulations limit information that is provided, pastors continue to have access to information about patients’ room numbers as before — contingent upon the patient’s agreement upon admission — Boone explained.
“We recognize that the spiritual support during medical care is of tremendous importance,” she said. “Let your church know that you are in the hospital. Let your family, friends and church members know the name under which you will be admitted. Nicknames don’t appear on medical records.”
Boone also suggested that it might be a good idea to designate a family member to report to other family members and friends about your condition.
When Richards’ mother asked to speak to a pastor, Richards called the church and gave the pastor her room number. “I also made a point to tell her nurses that they could expect the pastor to come visit her at a certain time,” Richards said. “They would put a sticky note on her chart to indicate he would be coming.”
Boone said, “HIPAA allows us to share medical conditions with family members but, of course, we can’t identify all of a patient’s relatives.”
Richards said she and her siblings agreed to designate her as the primary contact since she lived the closest to the hospital.
“My work, home and cell numbers were taped onto the front of her chart, and I was the one [nurses and doctors] called when anything changed,” she said. “During the most critical times, her primary doctor would schedule family meetings with us where we could all three sit with him for half an hour, discuss her situation and discuss courses of action.”
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