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Haven't been on CS for awhile, but Evil Empryss told me about this post and after I wiped the WTF look off my face, I had to come take a look for myself.
What this doctor and nurse did was completely uncalled for and unprofessional. LadyKelli, you do have recourse if you choose to take it.
What they did is not a HIPPA violation; they didn't communicate your private medical information to a third party who was not authorized to have that information. Unless you can prove someone else overheard, there's not a HIPPA violation.
What they DID do was violate ethical standards that are in place for both doctors and nurses.
The first place to complain to is the administration of the urgent care. They will not be pleased to hear of such behavior; this is the kind of thing that gets a place a bad reputation, and that hurts the bottom line. They will take it seriously.
The second place to complain to is not the AMA (that is a professional organization with no power over individual providers) but to the Board of Medicine in your state. The Board is who actually grants the license to practice medicine, without which your provider has no job. The Board also governs the practice of Physician's Assistants, who often taken on the "doctor" role in clinics like these. You'll need to get a copy of your chart to see who actually treated you and what their credentials are . . . it will be in the chart.
The third place is the Board of Nursing, assuming the nurse was in fact a nurse. If she was an RN, LPN, or nursing assistant, she's governed by the Board of Nursing . . . and they are pit bulls when it comes to this kind of thing. She probably won't lose her license, but she'll have to take a remediation course and be put on probation--if she ever did something like this again she WOULD lose her license . . . and this will follow her if she moves to another state and could affect her ability to work.
Medical Boards have a reputation for protecting doctors, but they would probably slap him with a reprimand. If the "nurse" was a medical assistant, her practice is either governed by the Board of Medicine or by the Department of Health and Human Services (check with your state).
You could file suit, but you'd have to prove harm, and after waiting a year it is unlikely a court would be sympathetic.
As a nurse with 25 years experience I am nothing short of appalled. Granted, I wasn't there and didn't see it myself, but I have no reason to doubt your account of things. This kind of behavior is never acceptable.
Folks, if something like this happens to you, please complain to their supervisor.
What this doctor and nurse did was completely uncalled for and unprofessional. LadyKelli, you do have recourse if you choose to take it.
What they did is not a HIPPA violation; they didn't communicate your private medical information to a third party who was not authorized to have that information. Unless you can prove someone else overheard, there's not a HIPPA violation.
What they DID do was violate ethical standards that are in place for both doctors and nurses.
The first place to complain to is the administration of the urgent care. They will not be pleased to hear of such behavior; this is the kind of thing that gets a place a bad reputation, and that hurts the bottom line. They will take it seriously.
The second place to complain to is not the AMA (that is a professional organization with no power over individual providers) but to the Board of Medicine in your state. The Board is who actually grants the license to practice medicine, without which your provider has no job. The Board also governs the practice of Physician's Assistants, who often taken on the "doctor" role in clinics like these. You'll need to get a copy of your chart to see who actually treated you and what their credentials are . . . it will be in the chart.
The third place is the Board of Nursing, assuming the nurse was in fact a nurse. If she was an RN, LPN, or nursing assistant, she's governed by the Board of Nursing . . . and they are pit bulls when it comes to this kind of thing. She probably won't lose her license, but she'll have to take a remediation course and be put on probation--if she ever did something like this again she WOULD lose her license . . . and this will follow her if she moves to another state and could affect her ability to work.
Medical Boards have a reputation for protecting doctors, but they would probably slap him with a reprimand. If the "nurse" was a medical assistant, her practice is either governed by the Board of Medicine or by the Department of Health and Human Services (check with your state).
You could file suit, but you'd have to prove harm, and after waiting a year it is unlikely a court would be sympathetic.
As a nurse with 25 years experience I am nothing short of appalled. Granted, I wasn't there and didn't see it myself, but I have no reason to doubt your account of things. This kind of behavior is never acceptable.
Folks, if something like this happens to you, please complain to their supervisor.
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