He didn’t post her name, for crying out loud!
How could listing med’s and dosages be illegal?
In MA, for example, a minor using a cellphone in a parked car is illegal.
Again, just being cautious.
HIPAA only applies to “covered entities”, i.e. health care providers, a health plan or a health care clearing house (third party administrators who process enrollments or claims) or employers particularly if their health plans are “self insured”.
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/coveredentities/index.html
It would not be illegal under HIPAA for a concerned family member or friend to tell her doctor that they are concerned, but it would most likely be a violation of HIPAA for the doctor to discuss her condition, care plan or medications with anyone other than other medical professionals or covered entities if necessary to providing care and only with the patient having signed a HIPAA release form or someone like a family member or friend with a medical power of attorney.
Listing her meds here is not a violation of her privacy and not in violation of any law because no identifying information about the person was provided.
Auntie Mame: I concur with what some others have said. You are right to be concerned but don’t necessarily have all the facts. If a GP is truly proscribing those drugs in those doses to your friend as you described and she seems to be getting worse (without knowing if it is the drugs or her underlying condition) probably the best you can do under the circumstances is encourage your friend to get a second opinion from a competent physiatrist. IMO, GP’s have no business proscribing those sorts of meds and only monitoring the patient via telephone calls if that indeed is what’s going on, any more than a podiatrist should be proscribing cardiac medications.