Hear from Elizabeth V., who was unable to locate her son with schizophrenia:
Disparities Exacerbated by Overburdened Systems
- In low-resource settings, providers may have less time to navigate HIPAA intricacies or to secure the necessary consent for family involvement.
- Patients in marginalized groups may have lower health literacy or mistrust of the system, making them less likely to fill out the necessary paperwork to allow communication, often unintentionally cutting out essential caregivers.
Lack of Advocacy and Navigation Support
- Underserved populations often lack access to patient advocates who could help navigate both HIPAA and the mental health system. Without help, navigating consent processes becomes more difficult.
Disparities in access to mental health care—driven by geography, socioeconomic status, race, and culture—are deepened when HIPAA protections, though well-intended, isolate caregivers and complicate coordination of care.
For marginalized groups already struggling to access culturally appropriate services, the inability to engage family or community in care planning further widens the gap in outcomes.
