[afyork]

My doctors office fired the receptionist that I'd known for several years, I have LupusSLE and my son had ADHD and mild Asperger's, the new receptionist just happened to move into my neighborhood. I've lived here for five years. Apparently her parents are deceased and she inherited the property.

Nonetheless, my middle son was walking the neighborhood looking for our dog that had gotten out of the back yard, the new receptionist accused him of breaking into her home, which is not the case as we, ourselves, have had to call the sheriff twice for break ins in our home. However, I was at my brother in laws funeral while she was accusing my middle son of breaking and entering; again, he was merely looking for Cassius, our dog that had gotten out of the back yard.

Today, Sunday the 16th is the first time I've had to try to approach her and resolve this situation. Upon pulling up in her yard she immediately accused my son of being a thief, proceeded to tell and scream profanities at me, and then stated that she had looked up my family's records at her office and that myself and my whole family were drug addicts. I, again, have Lupus, my youngest son is the only other person in my family that see this same doctor.

I strongly believe that this is not just a civil case, but a severe breach of the HIPPA laws, as she stated plainly that she 'looked up our records and my whole family was nothing but drug addicts', she did this in her front yard in front of three other adults while she was inebriated.

I would like to file suit/complaint to the fullest, as she has only worked for my doctor for approximately one month and there is a definite breach of privacy when a receptionist takes it upon herself to scream innuendos in public, much less to people that I do not know.

I am a school teacher, and she also threatened to call the Board office and tell them I was a drug addict. I have proof that I am on multiple medications due to my Lupus, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and intestinal issues - none of which are narcotics.

Please advise asap as I wish to attend to this first thing on Monday morning, the 17th of September.

[ScottGem]

Yes, this is a clear violation of HIPAA. As a receptionist she had no right to look up your medical records. However, you cannot sue her over this. HIPAA does not allow suits for damages. What you can do (and you can do it today) is go here Understanding Health Information Privacy and go thorugh the OCR to report it. Most likely this will result in the doctor being fined and her being fired. If you don't want the doctor affected then I would ask to see the doctor and discuss this with him. He may decide to take action that will satisfy you.

However, her denouncing you in front of witnesses might seem to constitute defamation. This could justify a lawsuit. So my advice is to contact an attorney on Monday who specilaizes in defamation cases and discuss the feasibility of a lawsuit.