Would I be overreacting about a hipaa violation

amother

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 3:21 pm

Recently I was at the dentist who is still our family dentist. My brother goes to him as well and I was told unprompted that my brother's nightgaurd is ready to be picked up. My brother is a teenager still if you want all the details. This rubbed me the wrong way and feels like it violated hipaa. Would I be crazy to call the office a few days later and explain I really dont like that I was given my brothers personal information? I know its just a nightgaurd and no big privacy secret but it just feels like a boundary was overstepped just because he is a family dentist which I'm not a fan of. Thoughts?

amother

Sage

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 4:00 pm

I think it is ok to say something to them, that you want to keep it separate.

For reference me, my husband, his brother, my parents, and several other relatives all see the same dentist, so we have things like this and I don't mind at all. They never discuss medical issues, but sometimes ask me to pass along a reminder for an appointment or things like that.

But it is ok to tell them that you don't want the crosstalk.

amother

Seablue

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 4:12 pm

I’m from Brooklyn, chassidish family - in case that’s considered a different mentality. But I was married, 5.5 weeks pregnant and by my parents for a shabbos. We arrived Thursday night and I was in a lot of pain from one of my teeth. Friday morning, my father called his dentist, whom I had seen in the past, and asked if they’d take me in as an emergency because I was in pain. He had an appointment there later in the day and would have given it up for me if needed. The dentist saw me and treated the tooth. I told the dentist about the pregnancy because I knew they numb differently in first trimester. The dentist told my father when he was there later in the day - that he couldn’t take full x rays cuz I’m pregnant but tooth is all good.
I did not hold it against the dentist… he knew I was good with my father as he was the one who scheduled the appointment for me. Why should he think the pregnancy was private.

the world's best mom

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 4:31 pm

I once heard my dentist tell a man that his dil had been there a few days earlier and hadn't paid her bill. The fil paid it for her, but I thought the dil would be so embarrassed to know the dentist told him. And in my presence. (She was a friend of mine.)

But in OPs case, I think it would be overreacting to care about it or say anything.

amother

Obsidian

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 5:02 pm

the world's best mom wrote:

Maybe the Dil has a tab that fil pays? As an indirect way of supporting his son?

amother

Slateblue

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 5:28 pm

My family pediatrician once asked me how my 11 yr old sister is doing in regard with her anxiety that made her get terrible headaches. At first It bothered me as in how can she repeat to me? But its a Family Dr. and I let it go.
She will always greet me warmly and ask me how my other kids and sister are. I think it's nice
My mom shares with me evertything anyhow but I assume it could bother other ppl.

amother

Navy

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 5:37 pm

For this specific situation I wouldn't say anything because it probably wasn't anything your brother minded and he may have even preferred they send it home with you. I had a situation where I use the same pharmacy as another family member. We both have the same uncommon name spelled the same way. She picked up a prescription and was told there's another here for the same name but they hadn't checked the address or birth date and it was my prescription. I was upset and said something to the management later because while that prescription was not sensitive, I wanted them to be aware that medications can be sensitive and they need to be careful with checking before giving information.

amother

Navy

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 5:39 pm

amother Slateblue wrote:

This would really bother me! In your case if you knew anyway it's fine and maybe the doctor knows your family well enough to know it wouldn't be an issue. But for so many other people they wouldn't necessarily know all the details of their younger single siblings medical situations.

amother

Garnet

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 5:56 pm

When I was pregnant I went on antidepressants but I didn't tell my mother about it. I told the Dr before my birth that my mother will be there and they shouldn't mention anything about my medication. I told her that if anyone asks me what medications I'm on when my mother is in the room I will lie to them and not say anything about the antidepressants. The Dr agreed and made a note in the system. Fast forward when I was in labor the nurse asked me what medications I'm on and I lied and said nothing. They kept asking me again. And then they asked, are you still on ( the name of the medication) I said no, and I was so mad at them. My mom finally got the hint and left the room. I told the nurse that she wasn't supposed to ask me when my mom was there. Was that a hippa violation or if my mom is with me they can assume that I'm OK with it?

amother

Freesia

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 6:02 pm

amother Garnet wrote:

It was a HIPAA for them to mention what medication you're on, and inappropriate to ask in front of someone else. They can't make assumptions. They need it in writing whom they can discuss your medical info with.

amother

Maroon

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 6:20 pm

This might be technically a violation but are you seriously planning to report it or take any action. That would make you a bit of a Karen in my opinion Very Happy

It is telling a family member something that most normal people would not consider to be private information and was done to be helpful and not to engage in yentaish gossip 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

amother

Oxfordblue

Sun, Apr 30 2023, 6:38 pm

Technically a violation but seriously, just let it go.
You know what else is a violation?
Im a nurse in a nursing home.
HIPAA used to make sense. Now its just overkill.
We can no longer post names in the name slots outside resident rooms. We can't label their wheelchair, because then when theyre in the hallway, outsiders can read their name. We got dinged by stare survey recently because we had "no blood pressure right arm" posted by the resident's bed-because if a well meaning visitor would visit and see that, that's HIPAA.
So we have wheelchair mixups all day long and are constantly running to check on the computer about every little detail that we used to have posted by their beds....find a resident unresponsive? Used to say DNR or FULL CODE by their bed-a 1 second look was all it took to confirm if we should start compressions. Now we have to go check their chart first.

If mrs Green's daughter Shaindy is visiting and tells me she looks confused today, and I run labs and find she has a UTI, then tomorrow when shaindy asks what the results were I can't tell her because mrs Green's health care proxy is the daughter Breindy. And you can only have one health care proxy. So by letter of the law, I can not tell Shaindy, or Raizy or Libby or Shloimy or Nosson about their mother's UTI-only Breindy, and then she can tell them. Even though they all take shifts and theyre all involved.
Its too much.
Ah, you say....but the nurses tell me about my mother's condition even though im not hcp....
Right.
Because otherwise ot gets chaotic and ridiculous.
But please dont file an official complaint against them just because of the letter of the law.