Under the hipaa laws do you document on a run sheet that a patient has HIV?

Im on a fire dept as an Emt and just had our hipaa law training but never heard anything about reporting or documentation on HIV

Laws governing the release of AIDS and HIV-related information vary greatly from state to state. In New York and Maine, for example, the regulations are very stringent: AIDS and HIV-related information should only be released upon execution of a consent form specifically designed for that purpose; a general release form is not adequate. The form should be witnessed, and should include a notice prohibiting redisclosure.


maybe this will help too:
Does a ambulance provider have the means to look at transfer documents concering pt. transfers? This is asked due to concerns of being a EMT-P transfering pt's from one hospital to another
Answer: The HIPAA Privacy Rule permits an ambulance service or other health care provider to disclose protected health information about an individual, without the individual鈥檚 authorization, to another health care provider, such as a hospital, for that provider鈥檚 treatment of the individual. See 45 CFR 164.506 and the definition of 鈥渢reatment鈥?at 45 CFR 164.501.

HIPPA is designed to keep patients information private. Any information on a "Run Sheet" falls under HIPPA in the Provider catagory.

It is fine to put on a run sheet and is important as Medication, history, etc.

Keep the run sheets in a locked area and treat as if part of the medical record. Shred any copies not needed.

under hippa laws, you may document all necessary information about the pt, including HIV, however you must ENSURE that this information is never passed outside of your department. these laws are in effect to ensure the privacy of all people and their right to disclose (or not disclose) any personal health information. if you choose to document it, safeguard it with your life, because not safeguarding it could cost you $250,000 per occurence.

If the patient offers the information as part of his history it should be included on the report the same as any history is documented. In Ohio all run reports are kept strictly confidential and run reports are only viewed by the 2 EMT's on that run. Your run report is considered a legal document and becomes a part of the patients chart once established in the ED. Obviously what you write on the report is not to be shared with your buddies and that is really where the test of confidentiality comes into the picture.