High School injuries

Medical professionals are not bound by HIPAA in reporting an on-field injury.

Actually, the privacy clause inside of HIPAA is a very, very small part of HIPAA and is specific to release of medical records. Asking for a description of an injury or an update of an injury which occurred in a public setting is not a violation of HIPAA.

In addition, that wasn't the spirit of HIPAA. The privacy clause was entered because of the age of DNA. So, insurance providers, both health and life, couldn't use DNA data for access or denial of insurance to individuals.

 

This is specifically what is protected by HIPAA.
Taken from a from the United States Department of Health & Human Services:

 Information your doctors, nurses, and other health care
providers put in your medical record
 Conversations your doctor has about your care or
treatment with nurses and medical professionals
 Information about you in your health insurer's
computer system
 Billing information about you at your clinic

So, those citing HIPAA on a football sideline or pressbox are being overly officious and have a misunderstanding regarding the privacy rules inside HIPAA. Or, have been told to use it as a "brush-off."

 

ding, ding, ding. we have a winner.

 

I have seen it used as a brush off in my state.