Physician Practices Abandon “Baby Board” to Comply with HIPAA Privacy Protections

​The ubiquitous bulletin board display of photos of smiling babies and children, once common in obstetricians' and pediatricians' offices, is now a thing of the past. And if one is on public display in a physicians' office, it is most likely unlawful because it violates the patient privacy protections of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), says an August 9, 2014, New York Times article. One obstetrician comments in the article that when he is asked by patients about the whereabouts of the office baby board, he tells them, "We no longer post them because of concerns over privacy." If pictures are publicly posted in a doctor's office, they are of patient models. If a doctor's office wanted to post pictures of patients in a public area, it would need to obtain a written HIPAA authorization from the patient or the patient's legal representative to do so.