I hate it. HateItHateItHATEIT. (rant)

[Foxglove8778]

HIPAA is nice in concept but & best describes how it interfers and complicates.

I just had a call from a dermatologist's office, [Dr. A]. They cannot reach their patient, Mr. R., to give him lab results. The number they have doesn't work. Can I give them a phone number to call the patient? No. Even before HIPAA that was a "confirm but not release" bit of member informaiton. Can I tell them where he works and a phone number for that company? No. Also something we really can't tell them, even before HIPAA.

At this point the caller starts sounding upset. It's a biopsy result and it's not good. [Did anyone guess "skin cancer"?] She hung up.

I sat on After-call work for a bit. How could I reconcile between what's right and what's following the rules?

I did something I could get into trouble, or fired, for doing.

There was a previous inquiry from Mrs. R., I looked at it and it had a phone number in the comments. I called Mrs. R. and advised her that Dr. A. was trying to reach her husband and to please have him call them as soon as posible. She knew that Dr. A. is her husband's dermatologist. That's a good thing, that I didn't tell her something she didn't know. However I can still get into trouble for even telling her the name of a doctor that her husband has seen because that is a violation of his Protected Health Information.

I think I did the right thing. I know I can get into major trouble if they monitor that call or if Mr. R. complains about this. What other option was there?

[Kiwi]

My mother teaches government workers about privacy legislation and I know she feels your pain!

At the gallery, we would have people try and track down artists contact details all the time "oh yes im a good personal friend of robert bateman I just dont know how to contact him" ...sureeeee

The only thing we could do is take the callers contact information, and pass it on to the artist (not the artists wife or daughter or anything) and then the artist could decide if contact was ok. Thats the only way I can think of for you to do it.

Or you could try the cold clinical approach (which is how your supposed to be apprently at least if your a civil servant in NZ) by stating that its up to the patient and the clinic to ensure they have the correct contact information, its not your problem (nice on paper but doesnt help you feel any better in the real world) as my mum calls it when she teaches her classes "cover your arse mode"

[Foxglove8778]

following the rules would've been covering my arse and putting the responsibility where it ultimately belongs, on the member and the doctor's staff. It would've been correct but it didn't seem right.

For 7.5 hours a day, 5 days a week for nearly 7 years I have spent my days talking with doctors and their staff... it was in the tone of her voice when she hit a dead end with me. She sounded so paniced. She's not supposed to tell me that the lab results are bad. That is technically also a violation of his privacy.

If I had taken the "too bad" route I'm not sure I could've lived with it.

[Andara Bledin]

That's a really messed up situation.

To be honest, I totally would have done the same thing.

Well, if I had a direct line, I would have left a message for the guy to call me back at that number, and then given him the information that he needed to contact the doctor's office. That way both my ass and my conscience would be covered.

^-.-^

[nhollywood]

You did the right thing. If your calls are recorded randomly then the chances are that this call was not recorded. There's nothing to be gained from second guessing yourself about this.

A bit of advice, ask yourself "Can I do anything about this?" If the honest answer is "yes" then do whatever you can however (and this is the answer that most people refuse to admit) if the honest answer is "no" then accept this answer. I believe you'll discover that at this point there is nothing further that you can do and to accept this is a very "freeing" experience.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I think you did the right thing...

[rvdammit]

There's a quoteI remember from SWAT (movie);

Sometimes doing the right thing isn't doing the right thing.

[Sliceanddice]

You might have wanted to say his doctor was trying to reach him about something and not doctor A, and most likely.... ok this is giving a human being credit here.... would call all of his doctors or call you back.

[tollbaby]

Sometimes the rules have to be bent slightly when the greater good is at stake. In this case, Mr and Mrs R's greater good (and possibly life, in the Mr's case) was at stake, and you may have prevented a dangerous delay in the beginning of treatment. I don't think a court in the world would convict you, and if your supervisors give you flak for that, then I just hope they're on the receiving end of a dyed-in-the-wool rule-follower one day when THEIR important medical information slips through the cracks.