Hello

I was taken by ambulance to a hospital for an accidental overdose. I was admitted to the ICU for the night. An acquaintance works for another ambulance co. that works for the hospital. She saw that my name was on the treatment board in the ER and wanted to know what I was doing there. She somehow obtained the specifics of my treatment and all of the other information that was in my chart. She went to the local Pub and Grille and has told just about everyone the entire story. I made a complaint with the hospital and ambulance co. I had a meeting with her Director and the Privacy Officer of the hospital. They are trying to cover her now. I am getting an attorney and making a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights. Is this a violation of HIPAA Laws. This employee is in an administrative position with the ambulance co.

Yes this appears to be one, I am sure if you hire an attorney you can get him fired most likely or at least warned, required to take new training and this part of his record

Thanks Chuck I just need to find an attorney who specializes in this field of law. I just know you can't trust the health care organizations to keep your private records just that. PRIVATE!

They are even with the laws far from private, there are more loopholes and more expections today than there was 10 years ago

You don't need an attorney for this problem. The HIPAA Privacy Rules do not allow a private cause of action, which means you cannot sue or even threaten to sue.

I imagine that the Director and Privacy Officer are trying to avoid your filing a complaint with HHS/OCR. Do it anyway, ASAP. It can take 6-9 months for them to investigate.

Additionally, file a complaint with The Joint Commission (jointcommission.org): Report a complaint about a Health Care Organization | Joint Commission

The Joint Commission (TJC) is responsible for the official accreditation of the hospital. Without TJC's accreditation, the hospital cannot receive payments from Medicare, so it's *very* important to them to keep TJC happy.

Send copies of both complaints to the Director and Privacy Officer, which will let them know you mean business.

Unfortunately, you cannot control what the hospital ultimately does about this situation; this is a case where one individual was being overly zealous and/or nosy, and does not reflect the hospital's overall policy.

The real issue for the hospital is: WHO in the ED told the ambulance person about your situation. That's the problem they need to solve.

Lane Hatcher
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Excellent response!