My daughter requested and paid for a copy of her medical records from a hospital, and spoke to the medical records manager at least three times, of which the manager called her by her name. When she picked up and paid for her records, she found that she had mistakenly been given all the records of her older sister. There was confidential information in these records that the older sister did not want disclosed, this has caused some tension between the two girls.
What should I do as the mother, seeing how some medical issues has strained a relationship. The hospital was notified and said they were "sorry". What if they had not been sisters, and even so it has become a big deal, unfortunately . What should I do. Thank you. CN

I believe this would be a violation. HIPAA recommends that when your daughter picked up the records, she should have been asked to show a photo ID to prove her identity so they can compare the chart before it was given.

I suggest contacting the hospital administrator to complain. Don't be afraid to call or write to the CEO of the facility to complain.

I'm not sure they will do anything about it - but they should be made aware of the errors being made in the records department.

You cannot do anything, whether you're the mom, aunt, or sister.

The daughter whose records were unintentionally released may have a case against the hospital.

While I realize it's not impossible, I'm curious as to how the hospital managed to do that. Were the records similar in nature - did your two daughters have a similar illness or procedure done at that hospital?

While this is a HIPAA violation, the only thing that can be done is complain. You can report this to HIPAA who will investigate and may impose sanctions against the hospital.