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HIPAA does not cover the records of a deceased person.

Sorry, but you are wrong about that, as the link I posted shows.

The log is only a log of the names of women taken into the delivery room. That’s it, according to what Zullo said. There’s NO REASON not to release this log book to the Cold Case Posse, given that Zullo also said that it was in the hospital library, which is ordinarily open to the public.

If you follow the link I originally gave to the HHS page, you'll see that HIPAA covers “Individually identifiable health information” which is information, including demographic data, that relates to:

the individual’s past, present or future physical or mental health or condition,
the provision of health care to the individual, or
the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual

It’s already published information, if it relates to 1961. The Health Dept. ALREADY published it in the newspapers because the HOSPITALS already sent the names to the Health Dept., which PUBLISHED THE NAMES in the newspapers.

In 1961 there was no HIPAAA, and this was legal. The hospital cannot now release ANY protected health information, past or present, except in certain very specific circumstances.

HIPAA also does not protect the names of people currently IN the hospital. Otherwise, of what use is the information desk, where one goes to find out the room of someone s/he wants to visit? Have you ever called the hospital to be connected to a patient’s room? Do they not connect you? That gives out the “name” of the person in the hospital.

You are confusing the meaning of the "directory exception." It provides for a directory of CURRENT patients, providing they allow it, and they must be given the chance to opt out.

The patient must be informed about the information to be included in the directory, and to whom the information may be released, and must have the opportunity to restrict the information or to whom it is disclosed, or opt out of being included in the directory.

Since neither 0bama or his mama are CURRENT patients, this is moot.

there’s NO PRIVACY interest in the name of a person who was taken into delivery in 1961. I got the entire medical record, including pathology reports, of an ancestor. The person is deceased. The records were available upon request.

For this legally occur after HIPAA was implemented, you must be the patient's appointed personal representative, executor or next of kin, or have a legitimate medical reason to need this, such as a genetic disease. Otherwise, the hospital who gave you the information is liable for a whopping big fine.

As part of my job, I have to take a course and test on HIPAA compliance periodically. Do the research - patient logs are no longer public information and are HIPAA protected with certain limited exceptions.

I wrote my comment before I saw the link you provided, which I did read. btw, I see nothing about the directory being “current” with respect to it restricting previously compiled directories of then-current patients. If directory information (that the person was in the hospital and where) is open to the public now, then it would seem logical that hospitals would not restrict past “directories” from the public, especially since the one under discussion was in the hospital library, according to Zullo. At the present time, there is said to be a book compiled by Dr. West that is in the State Archives. It contains information about children that he delivered. How can that information be in the state archives since it refers to medical treatment of individuals who probably are still living?