MELISSA CHADWICK
Observer-Dispatch

Barriers at the pharmacy inside Eckerd Drugs on Genesee Street in Utica prevent customers from peeking at prescriptions. A new clipboard covers up the names of those who sign for prescriptions.

It's nobody's business but your own, except under certain circumstances, thanks to new federal regulations.

Some Mohawk Valley residents say the new law will help regulate personal information.

"The world knows too much about us already. A privacy act is good for medicine," Clinton resident Lamya Stowens said.

Local medical establishments are reconfiguring the way they handle patient information because of rules authorized by the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

The rules prohibit disclosure, without patient permission, of information for reasons unrelated to health care. Violators face civil and criminal penalties that can mean up to $250,000 in fines and 10 years in prison.

"Privacy has been taken seriously in health care for years," St. Elizabeth Medical Center corporate compliance officer Dave Carlson said. "The laws make it more formal."

Health agencies are faced with informing customers and patients of the new regulations. At Slocum-Dickson Medical Center on Burrstone Road, patients last week were signing a form stating they had been given a handout on the rules.

At St. E\lizabeth, new binders hide patient information when they are transported in the halls. Names of patients are no longer posted on doors, Carlson said.

"We need to be very conscientious of who says what and in what setting," he said. "We offer the family a consultation room."

The new federal rules state that no information -- even that a patient is in the hospital -- may be released if a patient objects. Even if a patient agrees to a general listing in a hospital directory, hospitals may release only limited information without specific authorization and only if a caller asks about a patient by name.

Patients at Little Falls Hospital are given a 14-page booklet that outlines their rights and explains how the hospital uses their health information, health information Director Kathy Rice said.

"It's been received really well," Rice said. "It's not confusing."

The Little Falls Hospital staff has been preparing for compliance for 1» years, she said.

Employees at Parkway Drugs in Utica were recently trained on the new privacy laws, pharmacist Joe Chiffy said.

Family members and friends can still pick up prescriptions, so the elderly and disabled can continue to rely on their help, he said.

Parkway Drugs is in the process of adding counseling areas so the pharmacist and customer can discuss prescriptions privately, Chiffy said. Two-foot tall barriers will be added to the counters for additional privacy, he said.

Similar practices are in place now at pharmacies throughout the Mohawk Valley.

"We would never go out and talk openly with someone about their prescriptions," Chiffy said.

During a recent trip to Parkway Drugs on Albany Street, Julia Shaheen of Utica and Stowens of Clinton said they were happy with the new privacy protection law.

"I think people should have some privacy in regards to their medical history," Shaheen said. "Everyone wants to know everything nowadays."

The rules apply to all medical records, including those kept by the government.

Herkimer County Director of Community Services Edgar Scudder was recently appointed the county's privacy official. Scudder responds to requests for patient information, handling complaints, and providing information regarding HIPAA.

"There is now a consistent, uniform (countywide) process that's available to any patient," Scudder said.

For example, if a patient or an appointed guardian requests information about in writing, the county must respond within 10 days, Scudder said. A nominal administrative fee will be charged for copies of the records, he said.