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Medical privacy State Atty. Gen. Earl Anzai has assured worried health care workers that his office will be cautious in prosecuting violations under Hawaii's new medical privacy law.
law stirs alarm,
confusion
Advocates urge legislators
Special session slated for Monday
not to make hasty changes
that erode privacy rightsBy Helen Altonn
Star-BulletinAdvocates of the law suggest that the sanctions could be postponed to alleviate the concerns until people better understand the law, but they have asked legislators not to make substantive changes if they meet in special session.
"Such action, necessarily taken in haste, could result in a severe and unwarranted diminution of the privacy rights of Hawaii's citizens," the Hawaii Coalition for Health said at a legislative briefing yesterday.
Anzai issued an earlier statement saying, "The possibility of criminal sanctions has created a lot of distress in the community among the many people who work with health-care information every day.
"We know the law is complicated and we will proceed with understanding and with the utmost care in looking at possible criminal violations of this new law," he said.
"We will bring criminal prosecutions against a person who breaks the confidentiality rules only if there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the person who broke the rules did so intentionally or knowingly."
Confusion about the law and fears of harsh sanctions led the House Committees on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, Consumer Protection and Commerce and Health to hold the informational briefing.
Lawmakers were to hold caucuses today to try to come up with a bill for a special session next week.
The law is intended to protect the privacy of patients' medical information and carries severe civil and criminal penalties for violations.
Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono said the law has created "mass confusion." She suggested correcting the problems in a special legislative session, but Gov. Ben Cayetano said it can be fixed next year.
The Hawaii Coalition for Health, led by Dr. Arlene Jouxson-Meyers, a pediatrician and lawyer, urged House committees not to make changes to the law.
Richard S. Miller, University of Hawaii law professor emeritus and consultant to the coalition, agreed with Anzai that the act "does not present major barriers to state functions."
The coalition said most of the concerns about the law "have come from those who, for one reason or another, have ignored the act since its passage or who profess not to understand it. The people whose intimate health care information is being protected -- fellow Hawaii citizens who are health-care consumers -- have, for the most part, not been heard from."
Miller said the act must be preserved to maintain protection of personal and intimate medical information as guaranteed by the state Constitution.
"We think there well could be some improvements in the bill to take care of some concerns, but we don't want the bill killed," he said in an interview.
If the Legislature thinks it must take action, the coalition suggests postponing enforcing of the sanctions, allowing time to do more education and improve the law. But that should be for a limited time, possibly until the end of next year's session, Miller said.
Representatives of many health interests worked on the bill, concentrating mostly on health plans, he noted.
Anyone could participate but insurers chose not to, he said. Still, Miller said, they can't disclose protected information beyond the purpose for which it is given.
Hirono said insurance agencies dealing with medical records and workers' compensation cases have been questioning the law, which requires release forms from patients.
"Further education will deal with most of the problems; also further information how to deal with the consent form," Miller said. "People are writing crazy consent forms nobody in his right mind would sign ... People are afraid to sign it."
The coalition recommended that legislators give the Office of Information Practices authority to respond to consumer questions about compliance.
Moya T. Davenport Gray, OIP director, also suggested delaying enforcement of the sanctions to address concerns and continue educating health care workers about the law.
She noted that a task force is working on recommendations for rules that will clarify administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect health information.
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