Re: Patient Privacy

[Guest guest]

Martha--

You're right--this is an issue we need to watch and

monitor. Being a nurse, I see patient privacy violated

all the time by docs and even other nurses. As a

patient advocate, I have brought to the attention of

physicians, nurses, LPN's, CNA's, and other members of

the medical community that it is illegal and morally and

ethically wrong to divulge information about a pt to

another team member without the pt's permission. I have

also seen and heard pts tell their physician that they

don't want certain information about their past history

to be made known to other docs or nurses (such as the

fact that 10 yrs ago they were addicted to cocaine,

etc.). And yet the physician had broken that

confidentiality issue and told others. I find this

unacceptable esp since the past medical history may have

nothing to do with why the pt is in the hospital now.

Doctors and nurses are some of the most opinionated

people and are quick to make assumptions about a pt

depending on their past history. For instance, if a pt

has a history of drug addiction 10 yrs ago, but is clean

now, the nurses will automatically blame that pts drug

history on their neediness, or using the call light

frequently, etc. It bothers me to no end, because it

has happened to me. I have a health history that is

very in depth and involved for someone my age (31). I

have told some docs not to reveal to other docs that I

had my implants removed, and they have promised me they

won't tell, yet before I know it, another doc or nurse

is asking me questions about it. Nothing is sacred

anymore. Even insurance companies can get info on you.

And even scarier is that most hospitals are going to

computer charting. It is so easy for anyone to access

your medical records from the computer, or for someone

to hack into the computer system and find out all they

want.

And this story happened to me. I was suing some docs I

worked for for wrongful termination. The docs had

admitting privileges at the hospital where most of my

care had been received, including my breast implants.

Because they are staff of the hospital, and most people

are scared or intimidated by docs, they will not stand

up to them or question what they do. So, in my case,

one of the docs went to med records and asked to see my

records. The receptionist didn't question her because

she is a physician at the hospital. This doc copied

down all the info about my medical history and then

proceeded to use that against me in court.

I finally figured out how she had obtained it and called

med records and threw a fit. I demanded to speak to the

med records manager and when I told her what had

happened and that me and this particular doc and her

partners were in the middle of a lawsuit, she just about

died. She told me that anyone on staff at the hospital

has access to any pt's med records, regardless of

whether they were a treating physician or not. I was

appalled to find this out. What about pt

confidentiality?

Anyway, I put a " hold " on my records, meaning that no

one was to have access to my med records without my

expressed written permission. If someone was requesting

my records, med records was to deny them access and then

had to call me to get my permission, as well as tell me

who was requesting them.

But this just goes to show how easy it is to access

anyones med records. Nothing is private anymore, and

anyone can get access to your records.

There need to be stricter laws and stiff penalties for

those violating the laws. If new laws are not enacted

and then enforced, nothing will change, and we will all

continue to have our privacy violated in some way,

shape, or form.

e