Privacy Rights of Members

[RiverAux]

Personnel Authorization

[oak2007]

I think CAP has a cooperate responsibility to keep all of its members information private . this includes Medical. There was a time when we gave CAP our Social Security numbers. Is that something we all want out there. Where do we draw the line?

[SarDragon]

I think CAP has a cooperate responsibility to keep all of its members information private . this includes Medical. There was a time when we gave CAP our Social Security numbers. Is that something we all want out there. Where do we draw the line?

We still give CAP our SSANs. It's an entry on every Form 12 and Form 15 submitted to NHQ. The SSAN is the master tracking number used by NHQ, but is used only internally, and in truncated form when dealing with the AF externally. The reintroduction of a separate membership number (CAPID) was a direct result of the desire to protect the privacy of the membership.

[chiles]

BTW; HIPPA only covers health care facilities who engage in "electronic claims" transmissions.  CAP does not deal with this in any shape or form.

HIPAA, and you're absolutely correct. If you'll excuse me, I have to go check my impedance.

[Flying Pig]

Look, heres the deal.  lets forget about HIPPA, and all of the other regs that CAP get consumed with.  The issue here is that a member, while serving CAP had a medical condition develop on a mission.  A wing wide email was generated listing this persons name, Sq. and CAP ID number and the medical condition that developed.  All that is being asked is that next time a little tact be used when sending out a wing wide email with someone's personal medical conditions emblazoned across it for all to see.  I really don't think thats to much to ask.

[FW]

Look, heres the deal.  lets forget about HIPPA, and all of the other regs that CAP get consumed with.  The issue here is that a member, while serving CAP had a medical condition develop on a mission.  A wing wide email was generated listing this persons name, Sq. and CAP ID number and the medical condition that developed.  All that is being asked is that next time a little tact be used when sending out a wing wide email with someone's personal medical conditions emblazoned across it for all to see.  I really don't think thats to much to ask.

Once we got through the meaning of "impedance", we agree totally.  There is no reason why anyone's medical condition should be made public for all.  I think, ohm, there should be no resistance to this current thinking.  Or, maybe we should increase the wattage of this thought and clarify the reasoning behind this thread in the first place.  
Then again, I don't have much capacitance for any more puns.  

[Gunner C]

Look, heres the deal.  lets forget about HIPPA, and all of the other regs that CAP get consumed with.  The issue here is that a member, while serving CAP had a medical condition develop on a mission.  A wing wide email was generated listing this persons name, Sq. and CAP ID number and the medical condition that developed.  All that is being asked is that next time a little tact be used when sending out a wing wide email with someone's personal medical conditions emblazoned across it for all to see.  I really don't think thats to much to ask.

FP is 100% correct here IMO.  The root cause of this is the (over)use of mailing lists in CAP.  Things that should be sent to commanders individually are sent out on wing-wide mailing lists (effectively making commander irrelavant).  The pro forma use of these lists causes all sorts of problems - this is one of the worst examples, though.

GC

[CadetProgramGuy]

Actually it is HIPPA (Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act)

And if you give first aid or higher level care to anyone, you may have to deal with it.

[FW]

Guy, unless your going to charge for your services using electronic claims and, use your national H.P. number, your licence number and, your SSn or TID, HIPPA is not in the radar. (Talk about privacy )  

We, as members, should expect some measure of privacy when it comes to our personal information, especially information not having any bearing on our mission capability.  CAPR 110-1 governs our "official" behavior for electronic (email, internet) communications.

[RiverAux]

  The root cause of this is the (over)use of mailing lists in CAP.  Things that should be sent to commanders individually are sent out on wing-wide mailing lists (effectively making commander irrelavant).  The pro forma use of these lists causes all sorts of problems - this is one of the worst examples, though.
GC

Strongly disagree.  In general, one of the worst problems in CAP has been the bottlenecking of information in the chain of command.  Being able to get information out directly to the members very quickly is a HUGE benefit to CAP members.  I don't know how often in my CAP career that I've heard members complain about not learning about some valuable training opportunity because the information never got passed down to them through the chain.  That is nowhere near as big a problem as it used to be, primarily because of these lists.

Now, I agree that in this particular case, a wing-wide email wasn't appropriate.   There are some things that not everybody needs to know.

[D2SK]

Actually it is HIPPA (Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act)

And if you give first aid or higher level care to anyone, you may have to deal with it.

No...

It's Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Google it.

[FW]

   Yep, for the literalists out there, it is H.I.P.A.A however, every one calls it "HIPPA".  Let's put this part of the discussion to rest, OK?

[Flying Pig]

^ Yeah guys, this could be a good discussion.  Lets not turn this into a grammar correcting thread.  We get the point.

[Eclipse]

I don't see what discussion there is to have.

Common sense, common decency, and respect for our members should have commanders and staff protecting private information, but there does not appear to be any regulatory requirement for that protection.

There is more to be said in the regs regarding test control than privacy protection.

HIPPA doesn't apply, nor the privacy act, so there's not much left to try and apply.

Take my word, you do not want to introduce HIPPA-level information protection,

[chiles]

Actually it is HIPPA (Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act)

And if you give first aid or higher level care to anyone, you may have to deal with it.

No, it's HIPAA (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. If you provide medical services and have to provide patient charting, particularly electronic charting or insurance information transmission you have to deal with it. If you are in CAP and provide first aid, you don't. We don't charge patients, we don't charge insurance, we don't charge anyone. And when was the last time you provided charting on a CAP mission as a CAP officer that was required to be transmitted, in any form, to any particular medical insurance company other than that for those of CAP people injured during a mission?

I do agree that the safety forms do not necessitate the identification of a victim. I had to do 9 of them at Encampment this year and I didn't add a name and they never asked. We have hard copies at Wing of the State required form. There's no need for every safe officer in the world to know that Captain John Q CAP has a hemorrhoid explode after his fifth cup of coffee.