Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,015
Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
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Post by Sarah*H on Apr 26, 2022 19:32:09 GMT
I got a push notification from my insurance company that new test results were uploaded to my account this afternoon which was odd because I haven't had any bloodwork or tests recently. I opened it and sure enough, it was bloodwork filed under my name and sent to my doctor. Further down the identifying information showed it was a young child in a neighboring community with a similar name and the tests seemed to be for something serious that will need to be followed up immediately. I contacted my doctor's office but of course you can never get a human being and I wasn't sure how quickly they would respond & get the results to the right people. But the office manager called me back about 90 minutes later and thanked me and said he would make sure it gets to the right doctor and patient. I keep thinking about this child's parents and how I would feel if my child's medical information was given to a complete stranger. ETA: Late last night I got another notice that new test results were uploaded to my account again. I figured they just made the same mistake. It was worse - in this case, my doctor received his own copy of the test results, didn't look at anything closely and sent his analysis of what the results mean for me and the follow up I need to take. I contacted the office again but haven't received any response yet. But as of this morning, it's all still in my online medical record.
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Post by Zee on Apr 26, 2022 19:38:19 GMT
Unfortunate but I can't say I'd really care if someone else saw some test results on my child or not as long as it was addressed in a timely fashion. I WOULD be upset if the mistake caused a serious delay in care.
People act like lots of other people actually care about their test results and medication, when in fact, most people don't give two farts in the wind about anyone else's results because they're so focused on themselves.
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Post by hop2 on Apr 26, 2022 19:46:38 GMT
Good thing you looked.
I’ll admit, I ignore those if I haven’t been to the Dr. I have 2 adult kids on my plan and I figure they deserve their privacy so it a message doesn’t apply to me I ignore it. I get emails all the time ‘your claim has been processed’ or whatever since it’s ‘my’ insurance but I usually ignore them. I had never thought that it could be a mistake that could cause a problem for someone else.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Apr 26, 2022 19:50:04 GMT
Good thing you looked. I’ll admit, I ignore those if I haven’t been to the Dr. I have 2 adult kids on my plan and I figure they deserve their privacy so it a message doesn’t apply to me I ignore it. I get emails all the time ‘your claim has been processed’ or whatever since it’s ‘my’ insurance but I usually ignore them. I had never thought that it could be a mistake that could cause a problem for someone else. No kids, but I often just move notices to the correct file without reading it..
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Post by jenjie on Apr 26, 2022 20:14:24 GMT
Good thing you looked. I’ll admit, I ignore those if I haven’t been to the Dr. I have 2 adult kids on my plan and I figure they deserve their privacy so it a message doesn’t apply to me I ignore it. I get emails all the time ‘your claim has been processed’ or whatever since it’s ‘my’ insurance but I usually ignore them. I had never thought that it could be a mistake that could cause a problem for someone else. I don’t even bother opening those. If there’s an issue my provider will let me know. Heck I got a check in the mail from my insurance co last week for $500+. It was reimbursement for a Covid test. I called and said I didn’t pay out of pocket! The most I ever pay is $10 copay, I think I would remember that. She said you’re going to get a bill from the labs, this is so you can pay it. Ok? and thank you.
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leeny
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,760
Location: Northern California
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 1:55:53 GMT
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Post by leeny on Apr 26, 2022 20:18:22 GMT
I would have done the same. Everyone makes mistakes, but they needed to know that one was made. I once was given a little girls medication at an urgent care and she was given mine. We did not have the same ailment and I noticed right away and her and her mom had already left.
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Post by Zee on Apr 26, 2022 20:22:21 GMT
I would have done the same. Everyone makes mistakes, but they needed to know that one was made. I once was given a little girls medication at an urgent care and she was given mine. We did not have the same ailment and I noticed right away and her and her mom had already left. Now THAT is a real issue! Dear God.
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Post by peanutterbutter on Apr 26, 2022 20:34:00 GMT
I had an issue for years with Children's Hospital and a boy whose name was the same as my sons but their middle names were different and their birthdays were one day apart. Children's got their social security numbers mixed up. We would get information for him but it wasn't necessarily HIPAA violation type information. Funny how it never happened with the pediatrician's office and we had the same pediatrician LOL. They were also born in the same Hospital one day apart(name alert stickers all over the place!). Thank goodness they didn't have the same school district!
But one time we did get medical results for that other child , we were able to track the family down, and tell them, and then we called children's and asked for their HIPAA compliance officer because supposedly they had straightened the records issue out, clearly they had not. Never had another issue after that LOL
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Post by elaine on Apr 26, 2022 21:07:56 GMT
Having 2 kids in Special Education, I accidentally got information meant for other children in SPED several times each school year, so FERPA violations. I just sent the document back in my kid’s folder with a sticky note saying it was for another parent. More personal because these were children - and sometimes parents - that I usually knew. I knew that they were doing their best. I also knew that some of my boys’ info was probably going to other parents from time to time.
For me, and this only my opinion, these types of “innocent” violations which are honest mix-ups don’t bother me greatly. It is when info is purposely shared for reasons of monetary gain or to harm individuals and their families that I take issue. I do think that as many safeguards as a reasonable as possible should be in place so that this doesn’t happen.
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Post by scrappintoee on Apr 26, 2022 22:08:36 GMT
Sarah*H...That's awful, but I'm glad you were able to get the info to the right people. Scary to think it would have gone unnoticed, and what could have happened to the child! Hmmm....now I'm wondering if this happened with a recent procedure I had. My doctor's staff has been trying to find my results, and they absolutely cannot find them. I may have to repeat the test, and I'd reallllly prefer not to! Ugh....I'm already TERRIFIED to have an upcoming major surgery, and this recent loss / misplacement of one of my pre-surg tests is making me even more afraid! It is when info is purposely shared for reasons of monetary gain or to harm individuals and their families that I take issue. elaine....Wow--I've never heard of this---how awful! Can you give more info?
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Post by papersilly on Apr 26, 2022 22:33:16 GMT
it scares me to think this happens more than we realize. can you imagine if a recipient wasn't as kind as you to notify someone and instead ignored it?
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Post by cindyupnorth on Apr 26, 2022 22:57:49 GMT
I would say that 99% of medical facilities would not just use an email to notify someone of test results. Most tests are automatically released now. It would be followed up by phone calls.
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Post by elaine on Apr 27, 2022 1:31:33 GMT
Sarah*H ...That's awful, but I'm glad you were able to get the info to the right people. Scary to think it would have gone unnoticed, and what could have happened to the child! Hmmm....now I'm wondering if this happened with a recent procedure I had. My doctor's staff has been trying to find my results, and they absolutely cannot find them. I may have to repeat the test, and I'd reallllly prefer not to! Ugh....I'm already TERRIFIED to have an upcoming major surgery, and this recent loss / misplacement of one of my pre-surg tests is making me even more afraid! It is when info is purposely shared for reasons of monetary gain or to harm individuals and their families that I take issue. elaine ....Wow--I've never heard of this---how awful! Can you give more info? I am thinking of when the media was able to get ahold of medical records of celebrities without penalty before HIPAA. But this is just one case since HIPAA: www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article58721533.html A football player’s contract negotiations ran into trouble when hospital employees (in FL) took a photograph of his medical record from when his finger was amputated and released medical information to the press in 2015. I am also thinking about when medical records were released in the past to employers who have made decisions that are good for the company’s “bottom line” regarding individuals who have a variety of illnesses.
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AmeliaBloomer
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,842
Location: USA
Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Apr 27, 2022 5:14:18 GMT
Mistakes happen in every job. Honestly, I wouldn’t be upset if somebody else got my kid’s medical results by mistake, especially someone I didn’t know. I wouldn’t be happy - but it just wouldn’t be a big deal. Having 2 kids in Special Education, I accidentally got information meant for other children in SPED several times each school year, so FERPA violations. I just sent the document back in my kid’s folder with a sticky note saying it was for another parent. More personal because these were children - and sometimes parents - that I usually knew. I knew that they were doing their best. I also knew that some of my boys’ info was probably going to other parents from time to time.
For me, and this only my opinion, these types of “innocent” violations which are honest mix-ups don’t bother me greatly. It is when info is purposely shared for reasons of monetary gain or to harm individuals and their families that I take issue. I do think that as many safeguards as a reasonable as possible should be in place so that this doesn’t happen. Speaking of FERPA…I once down with a pile of eight report cards and eight report card envelopes - you know, the ones the parent signs and sends back and you reuse every quarter? Yep, like a machine, I just stuck a report card in each envelope without looking. Total brain blip. Felt like an idiot when they started coming back the next day. All the parents were very nice about it. They all knew each other and the joke became that I had managed not to get even ONE report card - by happenstance - into the right envelope.
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peppermintpatty
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1345
Posts: 3,947
Jun 26, 2014 17:47:08 GMT
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Post by peppermintpatty on Apr 27, 2022 11:57:47 GMT
it scares me to think this happens more than we realize. can you imagine if a recipient wasn't as kind as you to notify someone and instead ignored it? This isn't really an issue because the provider would also get the results and would have to reach out to the patient to discuss. Bloodwork is never just left up to the patient to figure out. It is simply a courtesy that is afforded to you because of technology.
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Post by auntkelly on Apr 27, 2022 13:14:44 GMT
I guess I’m in the minority, but I do think it is a pretty big deal that medical test results were sent to Sarah*H by mistake. It might not be that big of a deal that some random stranger learns that my annual blood tests were normal, but I happen to think that my test results are no one’s business but my own. In this case, it sounds like a child was undergoing pretty serious medical tests. What if the parents hadn’t told anyone what was going on, and Sarah was the town gossip? She might have put the child on her church’s prayer list before the grandparents knew there was a concern. This was undoubtably an innocent mistake, and those things do happen, but I think each and every instance should be investigated so that fewer and fewer mistakes are made. Thank goodness Sarah isn’t the town gossip and handled things appropriately.
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kelly8875
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,407
Location: Lost in my supplies...
Oct 26, 2014 17:02:56 GMT
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Post by kelly8875 on Apr 27, 2022 14:12:29 GMT
I would have done the same. Everyone makes mistakes, but they needed to know that one was made. I once was given a little girls medication at an urgent care and she was given mine. We did not have the same ailment and I noticed right away and her and her mom had already left. This is why I always look at my Rx before driving away. One of mine changes once in a while, and I don't know why...but I appreciate the label they include that tells me it has recently changed from yellow circle to green oval.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Apr 27, 2022 14:16:05 GMT
I get emails all the time ‘your claim has been processed’ or whatever since it’s ‘my’ insurance but I usually ignore them. I had never thought that it could be a mistake that could cause a problem for someone else. I usually ignore them, too, but they can turn out to be an error of some other kind, too. I don't ignore them any more, after the mixup I just had... I went to the ER in Jan 2021 and got an EOB notification in my email in Feb 2022. When I opened it, it seemed to be the same ER visit, reprocessed with a different claim number- and denied?? Supposedly I now owed almost $900, after already paying my ER copay a year earlier. I ended up having to make a whole bunch of phone calls to the insurance company, because that information was ALL wrong- and I didn't want anything on my credit report to end up going to collections, or anything like that! What they ended up telling me, finally, is that it was some sort of fraudulent claim sent to the insurance company by one of the doctors, and that they were investigating it. (but knowing my luck, if I had ignored it I would have heard about it from a collections agency.) as to the OP, I wonder if the doctor's office even has to notify the actual patient that there was an error? My cynicism tells me they wouldn't be admitting to a mistake if they didn't HAVE to.
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Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,015
Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
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Post by Sarah*H on Apr 27, 2022 14:16:32 GMT
it scares me to think this happens more than we realize. can you imagine if a recipient wasn't as kind as you to notify someone and instead ignored it? This isn't really an issue because the provider would also get the results and would have to reach out to the patient to discuss. Bloodwork is never just left up to the patient to figure out. It is simply a courtesy that is afforded to you because of technology. That might be the case but this report also indicated that it was ordered by MY doctor. Someone really messed up at least the data entry. The other doctor's information was there but it was not at the top. Maybe she got it initially but I'm also going to post an update that my doctor definitely had these results sent to him as well.
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Post by Really Red on Apr 27, 2022 14:56:13 GMT
I think this is pretty upsetting. These kind of things are things you really should double and triple check. I take medical privacy very, very seriously.
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Post by greendragonlady on Apr 27, 2022 15:07:17 GMT
I guess I’m in the minority, but I do think it is a pretty big deal that medical test results were sent to Sarah*H by mistake. It might not be that big of a deal that some random stranger learns that my annual blood tests were normal, but I happen to think that my test results are no one’s business but my own. In this case, it sounds like a child was undergoing pretty serious medical tests. What if the parents hadn’t told anyone what was going on, and Sarah was the town gossip? She might have put the child on her church’s prayer list before the grandparents knew there was a concern. This was undoubtably an innocent mistake, and those things do happen, but I think each and every instance should be investigated so that fewer and fewer mistakes are made. Thank goodness Sarah isn’t the town gossip and handled things appropriately. I agree with you.
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Post by littlemama on Apr 27, 2022 15:16:57 GMT
At this point I would be VERY concerned that your doctor reviewed results for a test he didnt order and updated your chart with notes about said test.
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peabay
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,891
Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Apr 27, 2022 15:23:54 GMT
Do you like your doctor?
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Apr 27, 2022 16:43:51 GMT
ha. if it was me, this episode would mean I liked my doctor quite a lot less than I had before, that's for sure. (but then again, in my experience, doctors are all pretty bad at skimming / not paying attention to detail, sadly. I had had fibroids for YEARS, and it was in my medical records that I had previous testing, diagnosis, etc. from previous doctors before I moved. I had some sort of testing - an ultrasound, maybe - ?? (ordered BY my doctor) and afterward my doctor at the time called me in to the office, all concerned, and sat me down to discuss my test results with me: "you have a mass in your uterus." Well, DUH, dude! If you had read my file at ALL, you would have known that already!!)
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Post by Scrapper100 on Apr 27, 2022 18:57:32 GMT
I would be upset as well. Also if it’s going into your record I would assume that it isn’t going into the child’s record. Those parents are probably waiting anxiously for the results. I wonder how to get this corrected at this point snd it would make me wonder how often this happens?
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Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,015
Jun 25, 2014 20:07:06 GMT
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Post by Sarah*H on Apr 27, 2022 19:11:50 GMT
I'm neutral about him. With my insurance, I have to go with a large group and he was the one in the group with an opening when I needed an appointment. I've only met him in person twice, he seemed to listen well but I'd rather have a woman. I asked to switch to a woman last year but none of the women in the practice have openings. I blame him the least in this fiasco, I'm sure he has thousands of patients and he probably just reviews the reports that are pushed through to him each night, assuming that they are indeed for tests he ordered on his patients.
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Post by scrappintoee on Apr 28, 2022 0:05:01 GMT
ETA: Late last night I got another notice that new test results were uploaded to my account again. I figured they just made the same mistake. I t was worse - in this case, my doctor received his own copy of the test results, didn't look at anything closely and sent his analysis of what the results mean for me and the follow up I need to take. I contacted the office again but haven't received any response yet. But as of this morning, it's all still in my online medical record. WHAT THE ? ! ?
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Apr 28, 2022 0:22:45 GMT
I may have missed it but have you attempted to contact the lab or the place where the tests were done? The lab should have a copy of the original orders.
They have made the original errors, although your doctor's isn't helping the situation.
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cycworker
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,387
Jun 26, 2014 0:42:38 GMT
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Post by cycworker on Apr 28, 2022 6:05:04 GMT
What if the parents hadn’t told anyone what was going on, and Sarah was the town gossip? She might have put the child on her church’s prayer list before the grandparents knew there was a concern. This was undoubtably an innocent mistake, and those things do happen, but I think each and every instance should be investigated so that fewer and fewer mistakes are made. Thank goodness Sarah isn’t the town gossip and handled things appropriately. I am torn. I do think you make an excellent point; I hadn't really considered that. You're totally correct, though. I know there are times I've been vague on the prayer chain for the very reason you listed. Things like, please pray for 'My friend's child/spouse/sibling, etc' as appropriate, because I knew there were some folks who don't respect confidentiality on our prayer chain. Where I might disagree with you is that I'm unsure I believe that investigating each & every one of these instances actually WILL result in fewer mistakes.
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Post by kimba on Apr 28, 2022 11:31:53 GMT
Sending you the wrong info again? I'd call the hospital and ask for the compliance department. Someone in the lab has keyed in your name, and nobody has bothered to fix it.
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