#vaccination drive

[thoughtlessarse]

With a severe version of mpox breaking out in the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are warning that it could spread and that people at risk should be vaccinated as soon as possible. High-risk populations include men who have sex with men, although anyone can contract the disease, which is largely spread by skin-to-skin contact — sexual relations, for instance, but also in crowds at outdoor festivals. Thousands of gay and bisexual men developed mpox in a 2022 outbreak. People with compromised immune systems, such as those living with HIV, are at high risk for serious cases and death. “There are two main types of mpox: Clade I, the type that is dominant in Congo, and Clade II, a version of which caused the 2022 global outbreak,” The New York Times reports. Clade I is deadlier than Clade II, the Times notes, explaining that “a clade is a genetically and clinically distinct group of viruses.” No Clade I cases have been documented outside of Congo yet, but a global spread is possible, as the 2022 outbreak that affected Europe and North America originated in Nigeria. “This is a very important example of how an infection anywhere is potentially an infection everywhere, and why we need to continue to improve disease surveillance globally,” Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told the Times.

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[ricisidro]

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Chikiting Ligtas, pabakunahan ang inyong mga anak kontra polio, rubella, at tigdas ngayong May 1-31, 2023!

#DOH #ChikitingLigtas

#GetVaccinated

#HealthyPilipinas

[smellpelt]

I did so many important things today I think I should get an award

[obstinaterixatrix]

I think my insurance plan might’ve ended coverage of the covid vaccine because cvs cancelled my vaccination appt and said it was because it wasn’t covered by insurance

[arctic-hands]

My parents were not nice and didn't handle having a disabled child even remotely well, and even tho things are better between us now I still doubt their claims of unconditional love for me,

But at the very least they cared enough about me to vaccinate me against measles

[race-week]

I really hate the people who choose to come into the office when they are ill.

The company I work for are really good about flexible working and working from home, but there are still people who will come into work sick and then proceed to spread it around the office

Thanks to them, I have covid again

[muddypolitics]

Mandatory vaccine

[mapsareforbraindeads]

fym i’m not old enough to be vaccinated i’m literally immunocompromised

[navybluetriangles]

.

[freebooter4ever]

lying on the floor having an existential crisis as a puddle

[nobodybetterlookatme]

Fevers are cool except when they happen to me

[kneworder]

i have all these draft documents of half finished fics full of lines i love but that are so fundamentally flawed i can't figure out how to finish them and can't kill my darlings mercilessly enough to get past the roadblocks so i just reread them over and over and think damn this is kinda fire. wish it was anywhere near shareable.

[ricisidro]

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Vaccination drive vs measles, rubella, polio starts today May 1 until the end of the month.

#DOH #Vaccines #VaccinationDrive

#measles #rubella #polio #VaccinesWork

[tardis--dreams]

Reached the doctor's office on the 1st attempt today. Impressed.

They don't do covid vaccinations (:

[alatariel-galadriel]

3 Common Misconception: HIPAA Edition

(aka I have HIPAA tattooed under my eyelids and I want to make it everyone else’s problem)

This is pedantic, but the act protecting your health information is HIPAA, not HIPPA. One ‘p’, two ‘a’s. HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, not the oft-quoted (and non-existent) Health Information Privacy & Protection Act. Not a huge deal, since it protects your health information regardless, but it’s a pretty decent metric to mark if someone actually knows what they’re talking about.

HIPAA protects you from employees of healthcare organizations sharing your information without your consent.  HIPAA violations occur when someone who has access to your medical information *as part of their job* either a) purposely accesses information outside of their job requirements b) shares your health information without your consent or c) puts health information in a position where it can be improperly accessed by others, purposefully or not. You can shout your medical information to the hills. People who you've told your medical information to can shout it to the hills, so long as they didn’t get that information through their job. People can demand that you share your information--but your doctor can’t hand it over without your consent.

Exceptions to HIPAA exist. There's quite a few of them, actually, and I’ve made a detailed list below the cut; but to correct the biggest misconception: yes, there are situations where health care employees are required to share your information with the government. This typically falls under mandatory reporting (think child abuse, gunshot wounds, or highly infectious diseases), but your information can also be accessed via warrant or subpoena for criminal proceedings.

Here is the government’s webpage breaking down the HIPAA Privacy Rule if you want to know more! I love love love HIPAA and will gladly talk about it for as long as anyone will let me (hence the cut below).

Detailed breakdown of HIPAA exceptions under the cut:

TPO: This stands for Treatment, Payment and Operations, because if your health info was on complete lockdown, no healthcare entity could function. Employees can access/share your info when that info is necessary for them to...

Provide treatment (ie: your nurse can share your info with your doctor)

 Receive payment (ie: giving your info to your insurance company)

Maintain operations (ie: health data/medical records staff. This is me--as a health systems analyst, I can’t do my job without access to the data within the medical records system)

Public Interest: ie: when required by law/governmental function. This includes:

Mandatory reporting (discussed above. Healthcare professionals are required to report infectious diseases like measles or rabies, as well as incidents like gunshot wounds or domestic violence.)

Health oversight activities. These are the organizations who evaluate and investigate whether a facility meets safety/performance regulations and standards. Trust me, you want your info shared with these folks!! 

 Law Enforcement. I’m going to be really specific here, because there’s been a lot of (justifiable) concern post-Roe v Wade. Your info can be shared if it is is…

Subpoenaed, court ordered, or court-ordered warrant by a court, judge, or administrative tribunal

 Requested by law enforcement to id a suspect, fugitive, witness, or missing person

 Requested by law enforcement for info about a victim/suspected victim of crime

 To alert law enforcement of a person’s death if the organization believes a crime has occurred

If the healthcare organization believes the information is evidence of a crime that occurred on its premises.

In emergency situations, providers can share information about the nature of a crime, the location of crime/victims, and the perpetrator of the crime.

Decedents: Funeral directors, coroners, and medical examiners all need your info to do their jobs, Being deceased, you can’t give your authorization, so an healthcare org sharing your info with them is not a HIPAA violation

Organ/Eye/Tissue donation: pretty self-explanatory. Some of your information as a donor might be shared to ensure a healthy transplant.  

Research (limited data sets): This one tends to freak people out, but if you’re on one of these, anything that can identify you is removed (name, address, etc.). Instead, details of specific conditions/treatments are stored to provide data for researchers. For example, every state has, by law, a cancer registry--used to identify sudden spikes that might be attributable to environmental factors.

Serious threats to health/safety. If a serious, specific threat is made against a person or the public, this can be shared with law enforcement and the person who the threat is made against. There’s a lot of grey area here in what counts as a specific threat, and this can get complicated quickly, but if someone tells a medical professional that they are planning on harming you, you will be notified alongside law enforcement. Likewise for a bomb or other public threat.

Essential government functions. If you are in prison or other correctional facility, you are not protected by HIPAA. Some government benefit programs will require the disclosure of health information. (It also includes national security and military missions).

And last, but not least: worker’s compensation. Healthcare orgs have to share parts of your information for you to receive worker’s comp, as part of the verification process. Fantastic!