Accessibility links
HIPAA HIPAA
Stories About

HIPAA

Veterans marched in on the National Mall in D.C. One is wearing an Army fatigues jacket and has his fist in the air. Another is carrying a sign that says, "Stop the Betrayal Now." Another sign says, "Where are our elected officials?"

Veterans marched in on the National Mall in D.C. on March 14 to protest President Trump and Elon Musk's plans to cut more than 70,000 workers from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Trump's back-to-office order will hurt veterans, VA docs and therapists say

The Department of Veterans Affairs embraced telehealth, especially for mental health care, in recent years. Now, staffers hired to give therapy and other health care remotely are ordered to do it from offices lacking privacy, VA clinicians told NPR.

VA employees are being called to work in the office. But some say there isn't room

Listen · 3:37
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/g-s1-55645/nx-s1-5399510-1" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Ad targeting gets into your medical file
Catherine McQueen/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Ad targeting gets into your medical file

More doctors' offices are ditching clunky clipboards and embracing digital records and online check-ins. But some patients may be unaware that their sensitive health data could be accessible to more than just their health care provider. Today on the show, how ad targeting has moved into the doctor's office, why that's rubbing some patients the wrong way, and why health companies say it can lead to better care.

Ad targeting gets into your medical file

Listen · 9:20
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197960899/1223866561" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Companies are telling unvaccinated workers to pay more for health insurance

A sign outside Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, encourages people to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Mitchell Layton/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

Business

Companies are telling unvaccinated workers to pay more for health insurance

Citing the high costs associated with Covid illnesses, a growing number of employers are telling employees who decline to be vaccinated to pay up.

Companies are telling unvaccinated workers to pay more for health insurance

Listen · 3:43
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1056238770/1059196482" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Digital Ambulance Chasers? Law Firms Send Ads To Patients' Phones Inside ERs

Some personal injury law firms now automatically target online ads at anyone who enters a nearby hospital's emergency room and has a cellphone. The ads may show up on multiple devices for more than a month. sshepard/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
sshepard/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Digital Ambulance Chasers? Law Firms Send Ads To Patients' Phones Inside ERs

WHYY

Personal injury law firms are using location-based mobile ads to target people as they enter emergency rooms. The trend is raising concerns among patients and health privacy experts.

Digital Ambulance Chasers? Law Firms Send Ads To Patients' Phones Inside ERs

Listen · 3:55
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/613127311/614518647" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Parents May Be Refused Details Of Adult Children's Medical Care

You may share everything with your parents, but health care providers might not be so open. Robert Lang Photography/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Robert Lang Photography/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Parents May Be Refused Details Of Adult Children's Medical Care

KFF Health News

Federal and state laws are designed to protect the privacy of patients' health information. But sometimes leaving parents of adult children out of the loop can complicate the patient's recovery.

Feds' Plan To Ease Privacy Rules On Addiction Treatment Spurs Debate

Do the benefits of wider data sharing outweigh the risks from a breach involving treatment for substance use? Fanatic Studio/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Fanatic Studio/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Feds' Plan To Ease Privacy Rules On Addiction Treatment Spurs Debate

KFF Health News

Current guidelines require patients to specify who gets information about their care. But advocates of change say that restriction is out of step with the world of electronic medical records.

Privacy Violations Rising At Veterans Affairs Medical Facilities

VA addiction therapist Brandon Coleman, now on administrative leave, testified about widespread problems with privacy breaches before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs in September. Madison Kirkman/AP Images for ProPublica hide caption

toggle caption
Madison Kirkman/AP Images for ProPublica

Shots - Health News

Privacy Violations Rising At Veterans Affairs Medical Facilities

ProPublica

Deceased veterans' documents were sent to the wrong widows. VA workers snooped on patients who had committed suicide. And whistleblowers contend the VA violated their medical privacy.

Small Violations Of Medical Privacy Can Hurt Patients And Erode Trust

The Medical Board of California accused Peter Brabeck's doctor in 2011 of overprescribing him controlled substances. Afterward, Brabeck, who lives near Carmel, Calif., learned the doctor had hired a private investigator and gave him Brabeck's medical records. Ramin Rahimian for ProPublica hide caption

toggle caption
Ramin Rahimian for ProPublica

Shots - Health News

Small Violations Of Medical Privacy Can Hurt Patients And Erode Trust

ProPublica

Breaches that expose the health details of just a patient or two are proliferating nationwide. Regulators focus on larger privacy breaches and rarely take action on small ones, despite their harm.

ProPublica's Charles Ornstein talks about data breaches

Listen · 3:29
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/459091273/459169819" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
College Rape Case Shows A Key Limit To Medical Privacy Law

The University of Oregon is under fire from students and some employees for turning a student's mental-health records over to its lawyers. Rick Obst/Flickr hide caption

toggle caption
Rick Obst/Flickr

Shots - Health News

College Rape Case Shows A Key Limit To Medical Privacy Law

OPB

A woman who is suing the University of Oregon for mishandling her rape case could have her own medical records used against her in court. Yes, that's legal.

College Rape Case Shows A Key Limit To Medical Privacy Law

Listen · 3:47
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/391876192/391915217" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Privacy Law Frustrates Parents Of Mentally Ill Adult Children

Mark, a California minister, says the day he was first shut out of all treatment discussions regarding his mentally ill teenage son "was the first time we really started to feel hopeless." Jenny Gold/Kaiser Health News hide caption

toggle caption
Jenny Gold/Kaiser Health News

Shots - Health News

Privacy Law Frustrates Parents Of Mentally Ill Adult Children

KFF Health News

Even if parents are providing health insurance, they often can't find out what's happening when their adult children suffer from severe mental illness.

Privacy Law Frustrates Parents Of Mentally Ill Adult Children

Listen · 5:11
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/318765929/318888373" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org