Suburban NYC Residents Impacted & Possible HIPAA Violations?

Although the new rule only applies to residents of New York City, the fact is that residents of suburban Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester Counties as well as residents in suburban New Jersey and Connecticut who have lab work done in New York City or see a physician in New York City could very well find their personal medical information on the NYC Health Department's database as well. Although this could be considered a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), and laboratories that violate HIPAA standards may be subject to civil liability and Federal criminal penalties, the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA) wrote in its comment on the NYC proposal that violations “are almost certain to occur”. Why? Because it can be difficult for a laboratory to know for certain where a patient resides, especially given the fact that lab requisitions do not require a patient's home address. In those cases, laboratories may inadvertently report to the Health Department test results based on the location of the ordering provider's office even for individuals who are not residents of New York City.