Brice D. Harsy

Brice D. Harsy, Privacy Officer900 North Washington StreetP. O. Box 192Du Quoin, IL 62832618-542-2146, ext. 1420

Bruce Harsy, chief financial officer and HIPAA administrator at Marshall Browning Hospital in Du Quoin, said the patient will be in complete charge of any information that is released.

"If someone calls, we will ask the patient first if they want the information released," Harsy said."From now on, the patient has the responsibility of who the information is released to."

HIPAA mandates that standards and requirements be established for the maintenance and transmission of health information that identifies individual patients.These standards, most of which were finalized in December 2000, are designed to "improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system" and to protect the security and confidentiality of electronic health information, according to the HIPAA Web site, www.calhipaa.com.

The most noticeable change the law will bring to citizens is in trying to get information about patients who are in the hospital.
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Harsy said Marshall Browning Hospital has been working on the changes, which also require hospitals to adopt stricter rules on medical records, since last fall.In order to meet all of the law's requirements, the hospital applied for and received a $9,000 grant to hire a consulting firm to prepare for today's deadline.

Harsy said anyone coming to his hospital wanting to visit a patient will be given the room number and told what condition the patient is in.He said visitors will have to ask for the patient by name when they come to the hospital.

mark.lambird@thesouthern.com

618-529-5454 x15816

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The board also employed Crystal (Carver) Harsy, wife of Marshall Browning Hospital comptroller Brice Harsy, as Du Quoin High School English instructor for the 2005-2006 school year.