Human Trafficking and HIPAA: What the Health Care Professional Needs to Know

Identifying Human Trafficking Victims - World Leaders and Health Institutions

“…In several states, trafficked victims may be prosecuted for crimes they committed during their captivity (Tiller & Reynolds, 2020) Hotline directly so that the case can be discussed in detail, since the hotline can provide assistance with community human trafficking resources (Powell et al, 2018). The patient's consent, whether written or verbal, should be documented in the medical record (Powell et al, 2018).…”

“…A health care provider should consult with, not only local law enforcement, but also child protective services and other relevant agencies to prevent further harm to the child(Boswell et al, 2019).Unless legally mandated, involving the police without the adult patient's permission may violate HIPAA, breach the patient-clinician trust, and result in unintended legal ramifications(Tiller & Reynolds, 2020). If disclosure of suspected human trafficking is not mandated by law, the care provider must obtain the patient's consent prior to speaking with anti-human trafficking service providers or trying to access legal, housing, and law enforcement resources for the victim(Chisolm & Dr Kline, 2018;Powell et al, 2018). Once consent has been obtained, the patient should be encouraged to speak with National Human Trafficking…”

The Need for a Mandatory Sex Trafficking Component in Physician Assistant Education

“…7,8 Powell, Dickins, and Stoklosa found that because no standardization of sex trafficking training for medical professionals exists, the training that is done currently can be vastly different. 9 In their study, Chisolm-Straker et al 10 showed that only 4.8% of emergency medicine healthcare providers felt confident in their ability to be able to identify a trafficked individual. Furthermore, only 7.7% felt confident in actually treating a patient who was a victim of trafficking.…”

“…7,8 Powell, Dickins, and Stoklosa found that because no standardization of sex trafficking training for medical professionals exists, the training that is done currently can be vastly different. 9…”

“…Because educational training on this topic is not mandatory for healthcare professionals, and what does exist varies widely, there is significant room for errors and confusion, contributing to the lack of confidence of medical professionals concerning this topic. 9 Thus, Stoklosa et al 13 have called for a multidisciplinary response to help address the mental and physical health of trafficked patients.…”