Violation Of My HIPAA Rights

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Josh Smith, MD ... @JBSmithMD My parents asking if l've managed to find a girlfriend yet is a HIPAA violation. 11:40 AM · Jul 21, 2021 · Twitter for iPhone

it's just meera @meeracleshappen ... asking me to share a fun fact about myself with the class is a HIPAA violation 5:29 PM · Jul 22, 2021 · Twitter for iPhone

The Volatile Mermaid ... @OhNoSheTwitnt Anna: Do you wanna build a snowman? Elsa: This is a HIPAA violation. 8:23 PM · Jul 22, 2021 · Twitter for iPhone

Stephanie Kaylor @sm_kaylor ... It's a HIPAA violation to perceive me 12:16 PM · Jul 23, 2021 · Twitter for iPhone

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About

Violation Of My HIPAA Rights refers to jokes made in a parody of congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene after she erroneously told a reporter who asked her if she'd been vaccinated against COVID-19 that the question was a violation of her HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) rights. The excuse was parodied by Twitter users by claiming a number of frivolous questions were a "violation" of their HIPAA rights.

Origin

On July 20th, 2021, congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, an outspoken conservative against various COVID-19 safety protocols, was asked by a reporter if she was vaccinated. She told the reporter the question was a violation of her HIPAA rights (shown below).

Question: Have you yourself been vaccinated?Greene: Your first question is a violation of my HIPAA rights pic.twitter.com/JuHDovV2mC
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 20, 2021

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According to Politifact,^[2] "HIPAA bars health care providers and insurers from sharing medical records without permission. It does not shield a person from questions about their medical information." As the video spread around Twitter, doctors and others pointed out that Greene's claim was false. For example, Dr. David Gorski^[1] posted that the HIPAA act only applies to doctors, nurses, hospitals, health insurance companies, etc. User @MegMcA^[3] responded by posting a satirical chart comparing HIPAA to the fictitious "HIPPA" law, joking "HIPPA" is what some people "invented" during the pandemic (shown below, right).

@gorskon · Jul 20 David Gorski, MD, PhD This is not a violation of HIPAA, which only applies to doctors, nurses, hospitals/clinics, pharmacies, health insurance, etc. Greene doesn't have to answer, but to use the claim that asking the question is a violation of HIPAA as an excuse reveals the depths of her ignorance. •.. Acyn @Acyn Jul 20 Question: Have you yourself been vaccinated? Greene: Your first question is a violation of my HIPAA rights LIVE C-SPAN C-span.org 0:20 5.7M views Fications

HIPAA vs HIPPA HIPAA HIPPA Health Insurance Portability and Health Information Privacy Name Accountability Act Protection Act Protects health coverage for people who change jobs. Requires medical providers to give patients access to their personal health information Requires medical providers to protect the privacy of health information Prohibits stores and restaurants from asking for proof of vaccination Prohibits stores and restaurants from requiring you to wear a mask Prohibits anyone from asking you for any health information for any reason Passed by Congress and signed into law by Invented by people on the interenet during the COVID-19 pandemic. History President Bill Clinton in 1996. Is it a real law? X X > > > •X x X

Others on Twitter began to joke about Greene's claim by posting that any frivolous questions they didn't want to answer were a "violation" of their HIPAA rights. For example, user @NikkiMcR^[4] joked that her parents asking her if she was high was a violation of her HIPAA rights, gaining over 10,000 retweets and 148,000 likes (shown below, left). User @WinnieThePooj13^[5] joked, "asking a hot girl with IBS why she’s running late is a HIPAA violation," gaining over 4,600 retweets and 39,000 likes (shown below, right).