Country girl Posted August 2, 2017 Posted August 2, 2017 So i has come to my attention that an EMT who transported my father said to another person (emt but not in same Dept) that he felt my father had too many medical needs and was being transported to the hospital too much that we should place him in a nursing home. Is this a violation of Hipaa law?
Just Plain Ruff Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 if he named your father by name then more than likely yes. You need to go to this emt's employer and discuss this with them. Simple and let them take care of it. Unfortunately I'm sure that said EMT was concerned about your father and was probably looking for advice on a tough situation but he should not have said anything. Now if he just mentioned that he transferred a elderly patient to a hospital and he felt that person had too many medical needs and should be in a nursing home then no, there was probably NO violation unless your father was easily identified by his description. Sooooooooooooooooooooooo, long story short, go to his department and discuss with a supervisor or manager. Be advised, an accusation founded or not, is likely to damage this guys career, so please make sure that you have all your facts straight before you go to his employer. Please do not think that I am trying to keep you from going to his employer but make sure that you have your ducks in a row on this one.
Country girl Posted August 3, 2017 Author Posted August 3, 2017 Thank you for your response. Yes he mentioned my dad my name and his medical condition. My father had 24/7 Care by nurses in my home so there was no need for concern. The doctor came 1-2x a month. He simply was frustrated that he had to transport him 5x in 7 years and said i was using ambulance service as a "taxi". Every time he was transported he was admitted. I will take your advice and speak to the management of the company. I just feel like he overstepped his boundaries and defamed my character as caretaker.
Just Plain Ruff Posted August 3, 2017 Posted August 3, 2017 53 minutes ago, Country girl said: Thank you for your response. Yes he mentioned my dad my name and his medical condition. My father had 24/7 Care by nurses in my home so there was no need for concern. The doctor came 1-2x a month. He simply was frustrated that he had to transport him 5x in 7 years and said i was using ambulance service as a "taxi". Every time he was transported he was admitted. I will take your advice and speak to the management of the company. I just feel like he overstepped his boundaries and defamed my character as caretaker. this is a definate hipaa violation and needs to be addressed. the fact that he feels that way about your father, imagine how he feels towards the patients who call 1-2 times a month. So your job now is to get your ducks in a row, make sure you have dates and times of when he talked to your source. You may also need to push this because some services are like the honey badger and don't give a shit. Not saying this service will be like that but they might. You might also start to look at a different transfer service to transfer your father but that's a very drastic step to take. You can request that this particular EMT not be assigned to his care but that woudl also be very hard to enforce. just police the care he gets. I wish you the best of luck. I would be quite miffed and upset at this type of shenanigan going on. I hope you get satisfaction. If not leather gloves at 50 paces. One more thing, this doesn't rise to the level of getting an attorney involve jsut so you know. It also doesn't rise to the occasion of going to facebook or to the news. Not saying you will do anything of this sort but...... some glory hounds would.
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