Information is Powerful Medicine at USCA Conference!

Last month, BWA attended the annual U.S. Conference on AIDS (USCA) to highlight Information is Powerful Medicine, a campaign designed for the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The conference took place in New Orleans from September 8-11, 2013. It was hosted by the National Minority AIDS Council, which develops leadership in communities of color to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. USCA is the largest AIDS-related gathering in the U.S., bringing together over thousands of workers from all fronts of the HIV/AIDS epidemic—from case managers and physicians, to public health workers and advocates, people living with HIV/AIDS and policy-makers—to build national support networks, exchange the latest information and learn cutting-edge tools to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS.

Information is Powerful Medicine educates HIV Positive Black men who have sex with men about their health information privacy rights, including access to medical records. The goal of this effort was to educate consumers about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and their health information privacy rights.

BWA staff spoke with participants and handed out materials with OCR staff throughout the three-day event in the exhibit hall. BWA Vice President David Contois joined several OCR and Justice Department officials to present in a session entitled "Information is Powerful Medicine: Health Information Privacy and Civil Rights Enforcement” on the last day of the conference.

New Orleans was the last stop on a six-city tour for the national campaign. The other cities included Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Oakland. For an effort that kicked off in our nation's capital, the USCA was a great highlight and final stop for the campaign.

For more information about Information is Powerful Medicine, please visit http://aids.gov/privacy/