Why don't vaccine requirements violate Hipaa?

[emma1325]

It seems to me that schools and daycares requiring vaccine records should be a violation of Hipaa.

Are vaccines exempt from privacy laws?

[CT Mommy]

I have asked this question to myself many times. It seems unreal that the school should essentially have my kids medical records and information on vaccines (which should have nothing to do w/my child's performance in school or be of concern should there be a medical emergency at school).

I'll be watching this post w/great interest...

[blessedwithboys]

this says that education records "which may contain info on vaccines" are not covered, but that still doesnt explain why the vaccine medical info in your records wasnt protected from schools in the first place, just says that once the school gets them, they are public.

i think even if i did vax, which i dont, i would file an exemption just to keep my kids records private.

[caned & able]

Schools also ask questions about the developmental markers in your child's development that many parents proudly divulge when they enroll their children in kindergarten or first grade, as when the child first spoke, walked, sat, rolled over, etc.

HIPAA was set up long after the vaccine records were required/recommended for school attendance.

This information also become significant when an IEP is set up for the child in school.

[Fyrestorm]

CT has a school physical law as well, so your child's health records and vaccination records end up with the school.

It's BS! Fortunately after much research I was able to find an exemption to the physical too. No way my DD's records are any of the schools business.

[CT Mommy]

We used to live in CT too now MN. I physical is required to enter Kindy here (even at private schools) and though I exempted for the vacs, I still had to turn over the physical info. Anyone know if MN has an exemption for this?

FYI, this will really get your blood boiling. My daughter came home from school w/the results of a hearing test the school gave her!! I never gave permission for the test, nor was I told about it before hand!! The children were taken from the classroom 2 at a time to a small room w/a complete stranger who conducted the hearing test! Can you believe that!

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by CT Mommy

We used to live in CT too now MN. I physical is required to enter Kindy here (even at private schools) and though I exempted for the vacs, I still had to turn over the physical info. Anyone know if MN has an exemption for this?
!

If your school receives funds from the Department of Education (Federal) then they are subject to FERPA rules (don't need to claim religious for this):

Quote:

http://www.sde.idaho.gov/sdfs/docs/Resources/FERPA.pdf

LEAs must offer an opportunity for parents to opt their child out of participating in the following activities:
® Activities involving the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for the purpose of marketing or for selling that information, or otherwise providing that information to others for that purpose.
® Any non-emergency, invasive physical examination or screening that is:
1) required as a condition of attendance; 2) administered by the school and scheduled by the school in advance; and 3) not necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of the student, or of other students.

[Otto]

Originally Posted by CT Mommy

FYI, this will really get your blood boiling. My daughter came home from school w/the results of a hearing test the school gave her!! I never gave permission for the test, nor was I told about it before hand!! The children were taken from the classroom 2 at a time to a small room w/a complete stranger who conducted the hearing test! Can you believe that!

Yah, I can believe it--these were certainly routine back in the '70s when I was in elementary school.

[Deborah]

I worked at a private school. Although we collected this medical info, it was kept in a locked filing cabinet with extremely limited access. Teachers, for example, could not see these medical files, nor could most of the administrative staff. The info was collected to fulfill state requirements and was used in certain very limited situations, I'll see how much I can remember:

1) In case of a medical emergency
2) In case of an outbreak of a vaccine preventable illness (although we had two such outbreaks...and never actually excluded unvaccinated children from school...and didn't have problems with the outbreaks expanding and turning into epidemics) but we were prepared to follow the rules, it just turned out not to be necessary.
3) For review by state officials to see if we were complying with the rules about collecting and retaining info.

It would be perfectly in line to ask the school to explain what sort of security they exercise around these records to see if they are acting responsibly and keeping private info private.

[caned & able]

Originally Posted by Fyrestorm

CT has a school physical law as well, so your child's health records and vaccination records end up with the school.
.

Yes, most states have an exemption or waiver for the school physical and the tb test.

[MommyDOK]

VEry interesting topic! I was told that all vaccinations in my state (MO) are reported to the state government. A friend of mine moved out of state and was called by her new state's health dept w/in a month of moving and told her vaccinations were behind schedule.

I'm sorry, but Hippa can't protect you when the govt wants information. And yes, it's all under the guise of keeping us safe and protecting us. Wait until national healthcare is up and running or we go to a single payer. yikes.

[amnesiac]

Originally Posted by emma1325

It seems to me that schools and daycares requiring vaccine records should be a violation of Hipaa.

Are vaccines exempt from privacy laws?

HIPAA is really more about limiting other people's ability to release your medical information to others than it is about controlling the information an organization requires from you. If you can find "HIPAA, FERPA, and the Sharing of Immunization Data" by Gail Horlick, she gives a lot of info.

[2boyzmama]

Originally Posted by CT Mommy

FYI, this will really get your blood boiling. My daughter came home from school w/the results of a hearing test the school gave her!! I never gave permission for the test, nor was I told about it before hand!! The children were taken from the classroom 2 at a time to a small room w/a complete stranger who conducted the hearing test! Can you believe that!

Just curious...why would this kind of screening bother you? Hearing and vision issues certainly impact access to education (as opposed to vaccine status), the screening is completely non-invasive and also not diagnostic. It is just a screener that is used to recommend to parents that they may want to get their children's hearing/vision checked professionally. And mild hearing or vision deficits can be very difficult to detect with huge impacts on education/behavior, so I actually think that school screening is a good thing.

Now if the concern is more of your daughter being with an unknown stranger, then that's one thing. Typically the school nurse has a hand in conducting screenings of this sort.

[ammiga]

Originally Posted by 2boyzmama

Just curious...why would this kind of screening bother you? Hearing and vision issues certainly impact access to education (as opposed to vaccine status), the screening is completely non-invasive and also not diagnostic. It is just a screener that is used to recommend to parents that they may want to get their children's hearing/vision checked professionally. And mild hearing or vision deficits can be very difficult to detect with huge impacts on education/behavior, so I actually think that school screening is a good thing.

Now if the concern is more of your daughter being with an unknown stranger, then that's one thing. Typically the school nurse has a hand in conducting screenings of this sort.

This hasn't happened to me yet, dd is too young. But I would be bothered for two reasons. First, I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to the screening, but I would be opposed to the school assuming that I'm not. I would want to be notified of anything they are doing with/to my child that was outside the norm of everyday things that I have grown to accept and expect. Second, I would be livid at a the idea of dd being in a small private room with a stranger. I think it sends a scary message to kids that when an authority figure asks you to go someplace private, that is ok. I do not want my children in any private rooms with any unknown adults, ever.

[2boyzmama]

Originally Posted by ammiga

This hasn't happened to me yet, dd is too young. But I would be bothered for two reasons. First, I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to the screening, but I would be opposed to the school assuming that I'm not. I would want to be notified of anything they are doing with/to my child that was outside the norm of everyday things that I have grown to accept and expect. Second, I would be livid at a the idea of dd being in a small private room with a stranger. I think it sends a scary message to kids that when an authority figure asks you to go someplace private, that is ok. I do not want my children in any private rooms with any unknown adults, ever.

I certainly understand that. At our school, the school nurse and a district audiologist conducted the screenings, so it wasn't my child alone in a room with an unknown adult. I think most schools are so leery of abuse accusations that they wouldn't ever let just one child be alone without a school official present.

I did actually know when the school was doing hearing/vision screening, but that is only because I'm in very close contact with my child's teacher. I call regularly, pass notes back and forth, etc. The teacher knows that I want to know when something out of the norm is happening. Our school also sent home a note at the beginning of the year stating that the screenings would be taking place in the first month of school, although the actual date wasn't told to parents (unless, like me, you had a close relationship with the teacher who told you when it was happening).

[serenbat]

This hasn't happened to me yet, dd is too young. But I would be bothered for two reasons. First, I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to the screening, but I would be opposed to the school assuming that I'm not. I would want to be notified of anything they are doing with/to my child that was outside the norm of everyday things that I have grown to accept and expect. Second, I would be livid at a the idea of dd being in a small private room with a stranger. I think it sends a scary message to kids that when an authority figure asks you to go someplace private, that is ok. I do not want my children in any private rooms with any unknown adults, ever.

off the subject-

but this is very common place in public and private schools (at least in my area)-children can be taken out of class for a number of reasons (NOT only medical like testing-hearing/vision) but for academic testing this is routine and common place-when you register your child you give them the right to do this

[amnesiac]

Please remain on-topic regarding vaccines in this forum. Thanks!

[maxwill129]

Originally Posted by CT Mommy

We used to live in CT too now MN. I physical is required to enter Kindy here (even at private schools) and though I exempted for the vacs, I still had to turn over the physical info. Anyone know if MN has an exemption for this?

Maybe your school has a requirement for a physical, however MN state law RECOMMENDS but does not REQUIRE a physical to enter kindergarten. They just require vax records/vax's up to date, which you can use the conscientious exemption form for that.

[caned & able]

MN may recommend not require a physical for school enrollment, but do most parents know that?

CA has the same thing, afaik, and many other states.

This is the same problem with vaccinations being pushed for school enrollment in 48 states. The schools broadcast the "no shots, no school" adage, but it is not true. Vaccines are recommended by the AAP, but for school attendance, there are legal exemptions in place; I have never known of a school administrator who ever told a parent that there was a legal option to "no shots, no school".