OH NO NOT MY BABY WALL

When I was in private practice and did deliveries, I would take two polaroid photos of the new moms and their babies, give one to mom and post the other on the wall (with their verbal permission of course).

Now, the NYTimes says it is illegal, thanks to privacy laws

Under the law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, baby photos are a type of protected health information, no less than a medical chart, birth date or Social Security number, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Even if a parent sends in the photo, it is considered private unless the parent also sends written authorization for its posting, which almost no one does..

so the government can legally spy on your email and blogposts, and hackers are stealing your information and medical records all the time, but I bet instead of real enforcement of privacy laws, they'll just start bullying docs.