The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ civil rights division met with Tulsa organizations Monday during a regional meeting.
Part of the discussion was on increasing patients’ privacy and security, which is part of the HHS Civil Rights Office’s focus. Director Jocelyn Samuels said a recent complaint started when radiologists took a work laptop out of the office and it was stolen from their car.
"They also had not encrypted the laptop, and so the personal health information, the private health information of a number of thousands of people was inadvertently disclosed through that oversight," Samuels said.
Samuels said the Dallas regional office gets about 17,000 privacy complaints a year. Her visit was partly an effort to help healthcare providers improve their practices and boost patients' confidence.
HHS is proposing a rule to add sex to federal healthcare nondiscrimination laws. Samuels talked about the rule to healthcare providers and community groups in Tulsa. The definition of “sex” includes gender identity.
"People have to be treated consistent with their gender identity, including with regard to access to facilities, and ... categorical exclusions of all care related to gender transition are simply inappropriate under the law and will constitute discrimination," Samuels said.
The HHS Civil Rights Office has received several complaints about discrimination based on gender identity, including patients being banned from treatments or entire facilities.
Language is a big focus right now when it comes to civil rights in healthcare. The civil rights office is working with healthcare providers to make sure they’re taking appropriate steps to help people who don’t speak English.
"Your healthcare is effectively nonexistent if you don't understand what you're being told about your diagnosis or what the treatment obligations are or what the medication regimens are," Samuels said.
A report from Tulsa’s Community Service Council found more than half the city’s Hispanic residents — the area's fastest-growing demographic group — lack English proficiency.
