As the General Hospital Turns Restlessly

The Premiere Episode (1 of 32) 

   J. Holden Covington commands a multi-billion-dollar kitchen appliance empire and is the patriarch of the wealthiest family in Palmetto Valley. When the refrigerator magnate succumbed to a heart attack (upon hearing that his youngest son Aiden had been kidnapped by his ex-wife Veronica), he was rushed to Palmetto Health’s emergency room, resuscitated by Dr. Trey Mercer and admitted to the hospital. Soon thereafter, Nurse Marley Arglebarker presented him with a detailed Privacy Notice, explaining how, when, where and under what authority his medical information might be used. 
   “Listen to me, Holden,” Marley urged, “Privacy is defined as your right to control personal information and to not have it disclosed or used by others without your permission." 
   “Really,Marley?” Holden wheezed. 
   “Yes, Holden. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act requires that we protect your privacy via numerous physical, technical, and administrative safeguards.” 
   Holden nodded as he looked the notice over, then turned to stare out his bedside window. “That’s very good. Because there’s no telling what my evil twin Viktor might do if he got his hands on this.”

Return to Palmetto Valley

The Premiere Episode (1 of 5)

   Ruggedly handsome hospital PR guy Roman Covington was quietly humming along to the Muzac version of Rick Springfield's "Don't Talk to Strangers" when the elevator doors opened and revealed an anxious-looking nurse Marley Arglebarker. Gripping a clipboard and biting her lower lip, she quickly stepped into the elevator and mashed a button. As the doors closed behind her, Roman swaggered, "Rough morning, Marley?" 
   "You know, Roman," she sighed, "it's been a year since HIPAA's privacy ruling went into effect, and our people still don't understand the Accounting of Disclosures process. I'm at my wit's end!" 
   Roman furrowed his brow. "What's not to understand? Disclosures of protected health information that fall outside of 'treatment, payment and operations' but don't require authorization are documented on the Accounting of Disclosures tracking log and sent to Health Information Management, right?" 
   "Exactly! Like, if you have to disclose health information to law enforcement," Marley overacted. "We've audited some of the logs and the disclosures are showing up in one place but not the other. All you have to do is fax or inter-office a hardcopy to HIM, or you email the log to the Accounting of Disclosures mailbox in Groupwise." 
   Roman cocked an eyebrow and nodded his head slowly. "But it's different for inpatient areas, right? Those reports are removed from inpatient charts after discharge, so those areas just log the disclosures and then that stuff's entered right into Palmetto Health's database. Right?" 
   "Right!" Marley beamed. "That way an accounting report can be produced if the patient requests one." She sighed and glanced upward at the flashing lights signaling each passing floor. "It'll be a lot easier once the process is automated in a couple months, but in the meantime we need our folks to understand how to do it manually." 
   Roman also glanced upward at the flashing lights and thought to himself, "That's odd. I normally arrive at my floor at the precise moment my conversation ends. Now what do I do?" He smiled at Marley and continued nodding his head. "Did you hear," he stalled, "my brother Strider is marrying district attorney Gabriella Chancellor this weekend? I'm on my way to the rehearsal dinner now." 
   And with a jarring, metal-on-metal screech, the elevator came to an abrupt halt between floors.

AGHTR: The Next Generation

The Premiere Episode (1 of 25)

   The young lieutenant stepped anxiously into the commanding medical officer’s quarters and bristled as the chamber’s heavy, metallic doors whisked shut behind him. Whoosh! Five steps forward and he snapped to attention, his right arm raised in salute to his new commander, Dr. Crusher McCoy. “Lieutenant Race Covington, chief security officer, reporting for duty, sir!” 
   Without looking up, the commander growled, “Take a seat.” Then he mashed a series of buttons on his desktop console, briefly consulted a panel of blinking lights and finally met the lieutenant’s nervous eyes with a steely glare. “You’re Roman Covington’s son.” 
   “Yes, sir.” 
   McCoy nodded. “Worked with your father back on Earth … at Palmetto Health. That was a long time ago … turn of the century. Back then, we ran the premiere hospitals on the planet. Today, as you know, we’re also the premiere medical ship in the Intergalactic Space Armada. A lot has changed.” 
   “Yes, sir.” 
   “As a security officer, you probably find it hard to believe that there was a time, long ago, when HIPAA’s security rule didn’t exist.” The commander smiled unexpectedly. “That was before we had enforceable standards for securing electronic protected health information … what we now know as ePHI. Since April 2005, when covered entities like Palmetto Health were first required to adopt and comply with the rule, we’ve seen cosmic improvements in Medicare, Medicaid and numerous other federal, private and intergalactic health programs. The rule forever changed the effectiveness and efficiency of health care.” 
   “Yes, sir,” the young lieutenant gleamed, running his fingers through his carefully tousled blonde hair. “My father told me all about his years with Palmetto Health. That was before the security rule was in place to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of ePHI. That was before the security rule was in place to protect against anticipated disclosures and threats to the security of ePHI.” 
   McCoy stood up from behind his desk and, for a moment, rocked back and forth on his feet uncomfortably and twisted his hips slightly. “And,” the commander grimaced, “that was before we had to wear these confounded, Lycra space leotards all the time.”