Physical therapist won't let me attend my three-year-old's therapy, because of HIPAA.
My toddler has had physical therapy for most of his life, because of his premature birth. Recently, we moved to another state and had to find a new therapist.
At his old facility, there were multiple therapists working with multiple kids in a shared space with multiple parents observing. Nobody seemed to mind this. (There was, in fact, a sense of community, since we were all enduring similar difficult situations.)
When we started going to this new facility, it seemed to be much the same. This is a much smaller facility, so most of the time, there are only a couple of kids receiving therapy in the shared space at one time. I brought my child in, observed his therapy, encouraged him to try hard, and comforted him, when he failed. Just like always.
Now, after a month and a half of this, they are telling me that I won't be able to observe anymore. I'll have to wait in another room, while my child receives his therapy.
The reason they give is that my presence violates the privacy of the other children, because I might see or hear something privileged. So, they say it is against HIPAA.
Is that true? If it is, why did they let me violate their privacy for over a month? Why did the previous facility let me and other parents do it for years? Don't I have the right to be present for my minor child's appointment?
Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.
-------- Update --------
I asked for a copy of their privacy policy. In a nutshell, it said, "We follow HIPAA. If you want specifics, our Notice of Privacy Practices is available on request." So, I requested it, and everybody looked at me like I'd asked for the moon. They ultimately said there isn't really any such document, except as part of their employee handbook. They said they would search through "all five hundred pages" and give me a copy, next week.