HIPAA, privacy and legal action

[akshark]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NH

I was in the hospital for surgery. I am 28 and although my parents were my ride home I expressly did not want them in my room or to discuss my medical situation with hospital staff. I was worried about this, so I mentioned it several times to the nursing staff. After shift change the new nurse helped me to the bathroom and when I returned she was discussing my medical status with my parents in my room.

This has caused serious stress in my homelife. I am not well enough to leave my parents house, but due to the actions of this nurse, I am so stressed I can't sleep, I can't hold down food, I have terrible stress headaches which make it difficult to read or have lights on.

what legally can I do to this nurse/hospital? That sounds vindictive, but I can't talk on the phone to friends, I barely leave my room, I can't consentrate. this isn't right and it could have been avoided by honoring my expressed wishes.

 

[lealea1005]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NH

I was in the hospital for surgery. I am 28 and although my parents were my ride home I expressly did not want them in my room or to discuss my medical situation with hospital staff. I was worried about this, so I mentioned it several times to the nursing staff. After shift change the new nurse helped me to the bathroom and when I returned she was discussing my medical status with my parents in my room.

This has caused serious stress in my homelife. I am not well enough to leave my parents house, but due to the actions of this nurse, I am so stressed I can't sleep, I can't hold down food, I have terrible stress headaches which make it difficult to read or have lights on.

what legally can I do to this nurse/hospital? That sounds vindictive, but I can't talk on the phone to friends, I barely leave my room, I can't consentrate. this isn't right and it could have been avoided by honoring my expressed wishes.

Did you arrange ahead of time for your parents to meet you and the hospitl staff member at the entrance of the hospital (or hospital pick up area), or did you just assume your parents would know not to enter your room?

In any event, you can file a complaint by googling HIPAA and follwing the directions. There is no monetary compensation for a HIPAA violation.

 

[akshark]

Hipaa

Thank you for your response. I am not looking for money. I want action taken.

I had said several times I would meet my parents in the discharge area E. I was also explicit that I did not want any visitors. On top of that a nurse isn't supposed to discuss medical specifics in front of others, right? can I have her fired? or censured or something?
I filed a HIPAA complaint, but it sounds like they won't do anything. Isn't there anything I can do?

I am not well enough to leave the house and the stress at my parents house is giving me panic attacks. I can't keep food down. I haven't slept since my surgery. What she did was unnecessarily cruel. I can't get out of the situation until I am healed some. I can't drive, I live in a rural area, so no cabs, even if I could pack a bag and go I can't carry anything bigger than a milk jug.

I signed a patients rights contact with the hospital, is there an angle I could pursue with breach of contract?

 

[lealea1005]

Thank you for your response. I am not looking for money. I want action taken.

I had said several times I would meet my parents in the discharge area E. I was also explicit that I did not want any visitors. On top of that a nurse isn't supposed to discuss medical specifics in front of others, right? can I have her fired? or censured or something?
I filed a HIPAA complaint, but it sounds like they won't do anything. Isn't there anything I can do?

I am not well enough to leave the house and the stress at my parents house is giving me panic attacks. I can't keep food down. I haven't slept since my surgery. What she did was unnecessarily cruel. I can't get out of the situation until I am healed some. I can't drive, I live in a rural area, so no cabs, even if I could pack a bag and go I can't carry anything bigger than a milk jug.

I signed a patients rights contact with the hospital, is there an angle I could pursue with breach of contract?

You could write a letter to the hospital CEO, as well as their HIPAA compliancy officer. They will investigate your claim and, most likely, retrain their staff.

With your parents in the room, I would suspect that the staff member assumed they knew about your condition. I'm not saying what the staff did was proper protocol, just pointing out that it most likely wasn't malicious.