News: HIPAA Rules Further Clarified for Medical Archivists

Archivists with medical information in their collections should become familiar with the new rules regarding the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which will go into effect this March.

Historic records from hospitals or the personal papers of health professionals may contain information regarding patients' health. Many medical archives are not currently repositories for patient records, which are under the purview of departments like Health Information Management which must adhere to strict privacy guidelines. But legacy collections have often been part of an institution's collections for decades, sometimes a century or more. Leather-bound patient ledgers from 150 years ago can be a boon to any researcher interested in the history of medicine for a certain era or location. 

Thankfully, the new HIPAA rules from the Department of Health & Human Services provide a bit more guidance for archivists and historians who are not interested in current medical records, but those of deceased individuals.

These modifications are now available online. Archivists, historians, and researchers interested in historic medical records should pay particularly close attention to Section 164.502(f)--Period of Protection for Decedent Information under Protected Health Information About Decedents. Privacy rules will now cover health records up to fifty years after an individual's death. Please see the link below to learn more about this rule and possible exceptions and how they might affect your collection or research.

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/01/25/2013-01073/modifications-to-the-hipaa-privacy-security-enforcement-and-breach-notification-rules-under-the#h-203

 

CAMA Spotlight: American College of Surgeons Archives

Our second CAMA Spotlight focuses on one of our member institutions, the Archives of the American College of Surgeons. 

Thanks to archivists Susan Rishworth, MA, MLS, CA, and Dolores Barber, MSLIS, CA, of the American College of Surgeons Archives for participating in this month's CAMA Spotlight.

ACS Seal at its Headquarters in Chicago. Courtesy ACS Archives.

What is the American College of Surgeons?

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) was established in Chicago in 1913 at the initiative of Franklin H. Martin, MD, FACS. It was an outgrowth of the highly successful Clinical Congress of Surgeons of North America. The Clinical Congress was first held in 1910 to provide continuing education by means of live demonstrations of surgical operations. From the time of its origin, the College has been involved in surgical education and research, patient welfare, hospital standardization, ethics of practice, and collaboration with other medical associations.

What is the size of your collection?

The ACS Archives holds approximately 300 linear feet of fully processed records.

Tell us about your users.

We are generally open four days a week and serve primarily our staff and members. But we also have nonmember researchers, typically historians and graduate students. We have also had young people come to do research on school projects.

What kind of reference services do you provide?

We reply to phone/email inquiries, assist researchers in the reading room, and give tours of the College headquarters.

Describe some of your online resources and digital collections.

Our online resources include the Highlight of the Month (history notes) and historical lists of Clinical Congresses, Presidents, Executive Directors, Recipients of the Distinguished Service Award, and Honorary Fellows. 

Digitized resources available online include the catalog of the Orr Collection, texts of past presidential addresses, photographs of the Board of Regents, the Clinical Congress News, one volume of the 48 volume F.H. Martin Memoirs (scrapbooks), and one volume of the 26 volume E.K. Grimm History Notebooks.

What are some of your most-used collections?

The records of the Committee on Medical Motion pictures have been used often over the years. Also used often are the records on hospital standardization; the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (now the Joint Commission) originated in the College’s early hospital standardization initiative. And we frequently use the Grimm Notebooks for authoritative reference on all subjects related to College history.

[Learn more about 3-D movies at the Clinical Congress.]

Who are some of the most well-known figures connected to the American College of Surgeons and your collection?

Charles H. Mayo received his medical degree from Northwestern University (then Chicago Medical College). He was one of the founders of the ACS, its president from 1924 to 1925, and a member of the Board of Regents. George Crile, founder of the Cleveland Clinic, and Alton Ochsner, founder of the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, were also founders and presidents of the ACS along with Franklin Martin and many others, giants of surgery in their day.

--Thanks, Dolores and Susan!  If you have questions for Susan and Dolores or CAMA, feel free to leave a comment in the comments section. We'd love any feedback on this new feature of the CAMA blog.

More on the CAMA Spotlight Project:

With this new CAMA Spotlight feature, you can get to know the people and institutions who offer resources in Chicago concerning the history of medicine, medical education, and related topics. 

Each institution represented in CAMA has a story of its own to tell. We hope this new feature is of interest to fellow archivists, students, researchers, and anyone curious about what in the world archivists do.

See last month's CAMA Spotlight on Scott Pitol, University Archivist and Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago.

CAMA Spotlight: Scott Pitol, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)

 Spotlight on Scott Pitol

 

A new CAMA blog feature... Member spotlights! 

With this new feature, you can get to know the people and institutions who offer resources in Chicago concerning the history of medicine, medical education, and related topics. 

Our members come from a variety of backgrounds and work with diverse collections, so we thought we'd tell their stories. We hope this new feature is of interest to fellow archivists, students, researchers, and anyone curious about what in the world archivists do. (Yes, a common question archivists hear from the general public is a tentative, "So...what do you do?")

An archivist in his natural habitat, Scott Pitol

This first submission comes from one of CAMA's newest members, Scott Pitol. Scott joined the University of Illinois at Chicago as University Archivist and Assistant Professor at the beginning of this year. As University Archivist, Scott manages the University Archives at both the Daley Library on the east side of campus and the Library of the Health Sciences on the west side of campus in the Illinois Medical District.

He's wrapped up his first semester in this position and took some time to answer a few questions about where he's been and what he's doing. Feel free to leave questions in the comments. Let's get a conversation going in the comments section and see what happens.

 Take it away, Scott:

Celebrating History of Cultural Diversity at Northwestern University Medical School

Historical Notes: Cultural Diversity at Northwestern University Medical School

Ron Sims, Special Collections Librarian, Northwestern University, Galter Health Sciences Library, Special Collections, has compiled a tribute to a few of Northwestern University Medical School's illustrious alumni.

Celebrating Cultural Diversity at the Medical School

http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/news/index.cfm/2012/2/10/Celebrating-Cultural-Diversity-at-the-Medical-School

In celebration of Black History Month, Ron Sims has written biographies for three alumni in which he reveals their lives before medical school and their fascinating careers after receiving their medical degrees.

U. G. Dailey in his class photo, 1906

-Ulysses Grant Dailey, MD, ScD, LLD, FACS, FICS, class of 1906

-Theodore Kenneth Lawless, MD, class of 1919

-Alfred Bitini Xuma, MD, PhD, class of 1926

Please see last year's impressive roster, also from Ron Sims:

Celebrating African-American Graduates of the Medical School

 

http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/news/index.cfm/2011/2/7/Celebrating-AfricanAmerican-Graduates-of-the-Medical-School

This entry from 2011 features the following alumni from the late 19th century, including superstar surgeon, Daniel Hale Williams, MD:

-Daniel Hale Williams, MD, class of 1883

-Allen Alexander Wesley, MD, class of 1887

-Austin Maurice Curtis, MD, class of 1891

How is your Chicago medical institution celebrating diversity this Black History Month? Contact the CAMA blog!

News: Hektoen Institute announces Michael Reese Archive

Michael Reese Hospital lives on in new Michael Reese Archive

CAMA members and researchers interested in historic Michael Reese Hospital should be pleased with the news that the hospital, which closed in 2009, is gone, but not forgotten. Chicago's Hektoen Institute of Medicine has collaborated with the Michael Reese Research and Education Foundation to collect, preserve, and provide digital access to information related to the history of the hospital, which opened in 1881.

Please visit this page for more information on the Michael Reese Archive:

http://www.hektoeninternational.org/Articles_Michael_Reese.html

The Michael Reese Archive needs your help. To further develop this collection, the Hektoen Institute is looking for more documents related to the hospital. If you have a potential donation, please contact associate editor of Hektoen International, Lila Haile, with questions: lila.haile@hektoen.org

The Chicago Area Medical Archivists are grateful to the Hektoen Institute and the Michael Reese Research and Education Foundation for preserving the legacy of such an important part of Chicago's rich medical history and the history of Jews in Chicago. We thank you, and future researchers thank you!

David A. Ansell, MD, MPH, to speak at Hektoen Institute of Medicine event

The Hektoen Institute of Medicine to host David A. Ansell, MD, MPH

The Hektoen Institute of Medicine will host David A. Ansell, MD, MPH, at an upcoming free event at Cook County Hospital, March 27th.

Dr. Ansell conducting research.

For more information about this event and to RSVP, please visit the Hektoen Institute of Medicine's Events page:

http://www.hektoen.org/events.html

Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 

Time: Program: 4PM–5PM; Refreshments: 5PM–5:30PM

Location: Cook County Hospital, 627 S. Wood St., Chicago, 1st floor auditorium

Parking Information: Cook County Hospital parking on Wood & Polk. Enter Polk street at light. $3 parking voucher available at lecture.

Cost: Free

 

Dr. Ansell will be speaking about his book County: Life, Death and Politics at Chicago's Public Hospital, which was published last year. His book is a memoir of his years at Cook County Hospital and addresses the issue of health disparities in not only Chicago, but also the United States. Currently, Dr. Ansell serves as Chief Medical Officer at Rush University Medical Center.

In researching this book, Dr. Ansell delved into County's past and its longstanding relationship with its next-door neighbor, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center (now named Rush University Medical Center.) His book features photographs and other material from the Cook County Health and Hospital System Archives and the Rush University Medical Center Archives among other sources.

[Image caption: Dr. Ansell wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty when researching his book. In March 2011, he enthusiastically visited various areas of Cook County Hospital's campus with Rush Archivists Heather Stecklein and Nathalie Wheaton in the hopes of finding long-lost treasures for his memoir. Image courtesy Rush University Medical Center Archives.]

For more information on Dr. Ansell and County, please visit the book's informative page:

http://countythebook.com/

For more on the history of the Hektoen Institute of Medicine:

http://www.hektoen.org/history.html

Interested in Ludvig Hektoen? Visit CAMA's page on Hektoen to learn more about CAMA member institutions with Hektoen collections:

http://chicagoareamedicalarchivists.blogspot.com/2011/03/ludvig-hektoen-1884-1951.html

History of the Illinois Medical District

Research Tips

View east, showing Harrison and Wood near bottom center, 1973.

The Illinois Medical District, located on Chicago's Near West Side, is home to some of Chicago's largest medical centers, including hospitals, research facilities, and universities devoted to medical, nursing, and health sciences education. 

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed several hospitals and medical schools in downtown Chicago. The Near West Side was untouched by the destruction and seemed a safe distance from the Loop for rebuilding. Cook County Hospital was the first medical institution to stake its claim, building its new hospital at Harrison and Wood Streets in 1876. Rush Medical College had lost its building at Grand Avenue and Dearborn Street in the fire and chose to build a replacement across the street from the new Cook County Hospital. 

[Image Credit: Rush University Medical Center Archives, Facilities Photograph Collection, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Aerial View, 1973, P553D.]

Over the years, more hospitals and medical schools were attracted to the area. Today, the Illinois Medical District includes the Cook County Bureau of Health Services, Rush University Medical Center, the Veterans Administration Healthcare System, and the University of Illinois Medical Center, whose College of Medicine is the largest medical school in the country. The district also supports research and development within its Chicago Technology Park.

Researchers might find this link to the History of the Illinois Medical District from the District's website interesting and useful: 

http://www.imdc.org/about/our-history

The site also includes an interactive map, showing the basic components of the district:

http://www.imdc.org/contact-us/interactive-map-of-the-imd 

Interested in learning more about the history of the University of Illinois Medical Center or Rush University Medical Center? 

Please contact the following archives:

University of Illinois at Chicago, Library of the Health Sciences-Chicago, Special Collections Department

Rush University Medical Center Archives

John Benjamin Murphy, 1857-1916

CAMA Historical Facilities/Figures Project

Murphy conducts a surgical clinic at Mercy Hospital, 1902

The Chicago Area Medical Archivists member institutions often house material related to the same individuals. Some of Chicago's most innovative physicians and surgeons belonged to the staffs and faculties of several Chicago hospitals and medical schools and were members and presidents of Chicago-based professional organizations. 

One such individual was surgeon John Benjamin Murphy, MD, LLD, MSc, who graduated from Rush Medical College in 1879. He went on to serve on the faculties of Rush Medical College, the College of Physicians and Surgeons (now the University of Illinois College of Medicine), and Northwestern University Medical School. He served some time on the staff of Cook County Hospital and was chief of surgery of Mercy Hospital from 1895 until his death in 1916. He served as president of both the Chicago Medical Society and the American Medical Association and was involved in the development of the American College of Surgeons, all of which are headquartered in Chicago.

Rush Medical College class composite, 1907

 

To learn more about Murphy's life and achievements, please read "An American Original: John Benjamin Murphy, MD" by Ron Sims, Special Collections Librarian at the Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.  

Their collection includes some wonderful items recently donated by Murphy's great-granddaughter, Barbara Miller.

http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/news/index.cfm/2011/4/7/An-American-Original-John-Benjamin-Murphy-MD

[1902 Clinic Image Credit: Special Collections, Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine]

[1907 Murphy Image Credit: Rush University Medical Center Archives]

Medical School Class Photographs online

Research Tips

President J. Adams Allen with Rush Medical College, class of 1879

A new resource is available online! Thanks to the support of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI), class photographs from Rush Medical College are now available for viewing by genealogists and scholars through CARLI Digital Collections.

http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm4/index_rsh_classp.php?CISOROOT=/rsh_classp

Also available through CARLI Digital Collections, class photographs from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and its predecessor, the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm4/index_uic_cmc.php?CISOROOT=/uic_cmc

Does your repository house class photographs from Chicago medical or nursing schools? CAMA would love to add them to this Research Tip!

Want to know more about CONTENTdm and CARLI's project? Here are some handy links:

CARLI Digital Collections Home:

http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/

Resources on digitization and CONTENTdm from CARLI:

http://wiki.carli.illinois.edu/index.php/Portal:CONTENTdm

Northwestern's Dispensaries and Outpatient Clinics

Research Tips

As part of the Galter Health Sciences Library's new exhibit, Photographing Pediatrics, Special Collections Librarian Ron Sims compiled a pictorial history of the dispensary and clinics at Northwestern. Here is part one of the article, which was originally published in Galter Health Science Library’s, Library Notes newsletter:

http://www.galter.northwestern.edu/news/index.cfm/2011/6/6/A-Brief-History-of-Northwesterns-Dispensaries-and-Outpatient-Clinics-Part-1-18591925

Waiting Room, South Side Dispensary, Davis Hall, c1910

This helpful article explains the relationships and name changes of institutions associated with Northwestern's medical past, including the Chicago City Dispensary, the Medical Department of Lind University, Chicago Medical College, Mercy Hospital, Davis Free Dispensary, and the South Side Dispensary. 

For more information on the Photographing Pediatrics exhibit and a previous exhibit, An American Original: John Benjamin Murphy, M.D. check out this CAMA blog post from earlier this summer:

http://chicagoareamedicalarchivists.blogspot.com/2011/06/galter-health-sciences-library-hosts.html

Now Online: Prominent Physicians, Surgeons, and Medical Institutions of Cook County, c.1900

Research Tips

Finally online! A great resource for CAMA members and anyone interested in the history of medicine in the Chicago area.

"Surgical Operation, Dr. Marie J. Mergler's Clinic, Woman's Hospital," page 259

Prominent Physicians, Surgeons, and Medical Institutions of Cook County in the Closing Year of the Nineteenth Century was digitized recently by the Rush University Medical Center Archives. The Rush Archives received a Book Digitization Initiative Grant from the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) last September. This two-volume collection of biographical sketches, descriptions of hospitals and medical schools, and beautiful photographs was the perfect candidate for digitization. 

"Cook County Hospital," page 431

The book also features wonderful images of surgical clinics, patient wards, and laboratories.

You can read and search the book online, download it as a PDF or full text, and even download it to your Kindle, iPhone, or other portable device.

Find it here:

http://www.archive.org/details/prominentphysici00unse

For more digitized documents from this project, please visit the Internet Archive's home page for the Rush Archives:

http://www.archive.org/details/rushuniversity

Questions about this project? Contact the Rush Archivists at Rush_Archives@rush.edu.

Rush History Book now Available in Free Digital Version

Research Tips

From CAMA Member Heather Stecklein, Archivist, Rush University Medical Center:

Many of the researchers who contact the Rush Archives ask us for a general history of the institution. Good Medicine: The First 150 Years of Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, 1987, is a solid history of Rush that includes historical photos and information from a variety of resources in the Rush Archives. Unfortunately, the book is now out of print, and it is difficult to obtain enough copies to meet demand.

The Rush Archives is pleased to announce that Good Medicine is now available on the Internet Archive website for downloading or online viewing. Researchers can perform key-word searches of the text on the website or download the entire book in a variety of e-reader formats.

Last September, the Rush Archives received a Book Digitization Initiative Grant from the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI). We created a collection of digital books from commonly requested works in our collections. In addition to Good Medicine, the Rush Archives page on the Internet Archive includes The Pulse Rush Medical College yearbooks from 1894 and 1895, two early alumni directories, and a variety of publications written by early Rush Medical College faculty.

Good Medicine, page 155

To view these fascinating historical works online, visit the Rush Archives page of the Internet Archive here:

http://www.archive.org/details/rushuniversity

View Good Medicine directly here:

http://www.archive.org/details/goodmedicinefirs00bowm

If you have questions about Rush history or this book digitization project, please contact the Rush Archives at Rush_Archives@rush.edu.