HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act is all about keeping your private information as private and secure as possible. It is your right to have your confidential information private. No one can talk about your medication or other personal health information to anyone ever. If they do that means they are breaking the law. There are exemptions to this rule though and it's called the circle of care.
The circle of care is the group of cleared individuals who can know what you allow them to know for your safety. This means you give these individuals the right to know your diagnosis, name, and even phone number in case let's say you get lost in your neighborhood. The circle of care are the people named to know your private information who have received written consent about you and for your safety. These rules are in place to keep you as safe as possible.
All information about the client is considered private information no matter what medium it's on including letters, notes, files, or spoken words. The information that is private include name, address, age, social security number, reasons for the illness, treatments, medication, past health history, and why they are receiving services. This means we all have to be more careful with emails, letters, notes, and all phone calls we make. Violating the clients confidentiality can result in fines upwards of 250, 000 dollars so always be careful both with your own and your clients private information. This simply means omitting private information or even stating that it would be in violation of HIPAA Law for me to tell you that. This ensures everyone's safety and privacy is secure. Provide consent through writing for the people who can know your private information for your safety or any other reason.