 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Prayer & Privacy
Watch This Video
| Windows Media |
  |
| QuickTime | |
| MPEG |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|||
|
New laws protecting the privacy rights of patients are causing churches across the country to rethink how they do prayer. It’s common for church members to lift up those recovering from heart attacks or surgery, and even print the names in the church bulletins. Now, churches could be held liable. Reed Galin reports. |
|||
 |
|||
 |
New Items | Additional Stories | UMTV Brief | Archives | ||
SCRIPT:
Prayer requests have been on hold in the bulletin at the First United Methodist Church in Rockwall, Texas.
“Donna Foster will be having surgery on Wednesday.”
The issue centers on privacy and the new health insurance portability and accountability act, known as HIPAA.
The Rev. Valarie Englert / First United Methodist Church, Rockwall, Texas: “HIPAA was a trigger event for us to take seriously the privacy concerns of the members of the congregation and people who might visit us.”
Because churches often print the names and ailments of those on the prayer lists, under new privacy guidelines, the churches could become liable.
The staff here is now finalizing a consent form for prayer request announcements in the church bulletin or from the pulpit.
The Rev. Valarie Englert: “If I am having gall bladder surgery, it’s OK if folks know and I want people to pray for me. If, for instance, I have a child that is in drug rehab, I don’t necessarily want that to be known.”
HIPAA also affects local pastors visiting church members who are patients in the hospital.
The Rev. Carole Somers-Clark / Director of Pastoral Care, Methodist Health System: “They can’t walk up to nursing staff or physicians and say, ‘How is Mrs. Smith doing?’ and expect to get any kind of a response.”
But HIPAA does not limit hospital chaplains, because they are part of the hospital staff. And despite the red tape, the hospital chaplain says prayer is still a powerful element in the healing process for many patients.
TAG:
Rockwall United Methodist Church is offering suggestions and advice for other churches facing the same dilemma. The praying is still going on, but only with the patient’s permission.