HIPPA vs law enforcement

[MedicCraig]

These are are all interesting opinions. I would like to see someone from law enforcement chime in on this. If you read the quote earlier about law enforcement rights to HIPPA info, it's pretty clear he was not entitled to view the PCR. I think this is really a educational opportunity for our LEO friends about what they can and can do in this situation. Just for the record, I have contacted the driver on this run and asked her to read these posts and weigh in on it. Stay tuned.

[Richard B the EMT]

2. There is nothing to find you 'guilty' of! You're only following a FEDERAL LAW that they cannot force you to violate.

Some federal laws are written in a way that allows state or local laws to counter them. Federal laws say you can put up a radio antenna on your house, but the condo you live in may say that you cannot. Federal law says I can have a "Police Scanner" in my house or car, NY State law says I need a permit for such radio in my car (and no local or state Police office I have contacted seems to have knowledge of how to obtain such permit, by agency, @ $25.00 per permit).

Now, if I understand the OP, the "stop" took place in an area known for transporting illegal immigrants and/or "recreational pharmaceuticals". The LEO was probably within both rights and duty to stop any vehicle (s)he felt might be in violation of either of those categories.

There doesn't seem to be any ironclad answer re letting the LEO see the paperwork. Unit activity log, perhaps, but not transfer papers or the Ambulance Call Report.

[island emt]

There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what HIPAA really is and what it requires from us as prehospital providers.

https://www.cms.gov/hipaageninfo/

It is generally accepted that EMS is a covered entity in most cases regarding HIPAA .

How many of you can think of a case where this is not true?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules

Mostly it is a set of rules when there is transmittal of Patient healthcare information from one covered entity to another, i.e. [ billing service, insurance company, another medical facility ]

It is not the same as patient privacy.

This is not to say that we must do everything to keep the patients medical information from being given to someone who does not have a need to know.

Too many folks wave the "HIPAA" flag as a reason to not share anything with anyone.

Going way back to the original posters questions and comment on what happen to his crew:

An out of state ambulance was seen by a Texas state trooper who tried to run the plates and came up blank. [fail for the DPS computer system]

He pulled them over on a questionable "traffic stop" to ascertain whether it was indeed a legal ambulance carrying out it's authorized trade of transporting a patient from point A to point B.

He asked for the paperwork to make sure that it was truly a patient and not a drug runner or other criminal activity being done under the guise of an ambulance as there have been documented cases in recent history where this has occurred.

There was a case in the news last year where a used ambulance was purchased and after loading all compartments and interior cabinets with high grade marijuana, they drove from California across the southern states headed for Florida. They were stopped at a gas stop and someone noticed suspicious activity, so they alerted law enforcement. The occupants were dressed in "EMS uniforms" and were seen smoking in the ambulance. There was a "patient " on the stretcher in the back covered up with blankets and playing the role of someone unconscious. All of the "crew on board had weapons in their possession.

Could it have been handled in a more professional way?

OF course it could have been.

But the question remains, was he out of line for verifying what could have been an illegal activity to the best of his ability?

In an unrelated case in Oklahoma last year the trooper pulled over an ambulance running L+S to the hospital and began a confrontation that could have definitely been handled better, as we all saw on the dash cam video. The medic could have choked the skinny little trooper to death right there on the spot. His testosterone got the better of him and he started a political nightmare that is still causing bad blood between EMS and the police force.

In the end apologies were made but it still caused a serious rift between public agencies.

[paramedicmike]

I informally presented the original scenario, as it was written, to several lawyers. All agreed that based only on the information presented, and absent any additional information that may affect the facts of this particular incident, the stop was legal, the search was not legal and HIPAA should have protected the patient's medical records from inspection by the officer in question.

Just because a cop asks if s/he can search your vehicle doesn't mean you have to say yes. You are allowed, and perfectly within your rights, to say no. Show some common courtesy to the officer. But know your rights. If you don't want your car searched, then decline the search. Don't let them bully you by saying they'll go get a warrant. Make them go get it. Sure, it's easier to just go along to get along sometimes. But if you want to say no then do it. And don't be afraid to do it.