HIPAA RUINS THE OFFICE ENVIRONMENT- IT POISONS OFFICE INTERACTONS
by CodeWarriorz Thoughts

The impact of HIPAA guideline implementation on the logistics of the office, and the negative effects on office morale and appropriate worker access to said records.

There are those who would obscure the effects of HIPAA under a smokescreen of alleged
benefits of enhanced patient privacy. What a load of horse manure.

The thousand pound elephant in the middle of the room that no one talks about, is the fact
that implementation of this HIPAA nonsense, causes a significant and palpable decrease
in office morale, and interferes with what may have been a previously happy and harmonious
office environment.

The draconian nature of what most health care providers perceive as the regulations mandated by HIPAA,
usually causes most health care institutions to institute some person to become what I call the
"HIPAA Nazi". The martinet nature of HIPAA Nazis make them march around finding all the little ways in which a business MAY be violating HIPAA regs, and the big thing they usually do is start by trying to turn all the monitors around in such a fashion that it makes it more difficult for those people working in these places, to actually USE the monitors.

From that point on, the appointed  HIPAA NAZI for each office goes about trying to make life and work in the health care provider's office as unfriendly a place as possible, and to cause the logistics of the place to be a nightmare.

Often, their misinterpretation of HIPAA guidelines, or their carrying these guidelines to such insane lengths,
makes the whole enterprise seem like something a madman would dream up. What often happens, as a result of these crazy modifications of what WAS a perfectly fine office arrangement, is that those people who have the best and most legitimate right to view the records, too often find inappropriate barriers to their free access.

I've personally seen HIPAA implemenation ruin, yes , RUIN the environments in various offices, making the offices become a sea of HIPAA paranoia, but even more, they become unfriendly and almost hostile situations for both health care providers and patients alike.