Woman Asks About Getting A Receptionist Fired For Violating HIPAA Regulations About Her Pregnancy

This woman is MAD and looking for advice on how to get the receptionist fired that spilled info that wasn't hers to spill...

Daphnie

• Published in Interesting
• November 16, 2021

It's exciting when someone finds out they are having a baby. It is exciting news for the parents, friends, and family as well.

Most people love to throw huge parties or celebrations or reveal when they find out they are pregnant. A lot of people plan a huge reveal to tell their family that they are expecting.

Parents do gender reveals to tell everyone (even themselves) what the gender of the baby is. The most popular celebration is of course the baby shower.

The point is, having a baby is exciting, and telling everyone is a huge part of the pregnancy and parenting journey.

Imagine if that excitement of telling your family was ripped from you because of a HIPAA violation. Ruining the excitement for new parents can be devastating for them.

It doesn't matter if you think these celebrations and reveals are stupid, they are not for you, it's for the parents and family. It may be your 12th pregnant patient of the day, but this is the first baby for these parents.

We are going to dive into a story where a woman's pregnancy announcement was ruined because of a HIPAA violation. The receptionist told her mom that she was pregnant before she even left the office.

Let's just say... she's angry and asking for advice on getting the receptionist fired.

Okay, so here's the story...

She finds out she's pregnant and then goes to her doctor's appointment. Now, the lady at the front desk is friends with her mother.

This is where it starts to get a little odd. You might be starting to wonder what exactly is about to happen.

It's already a red flag that she's worried about this lady telling someone about the news before she could.

She has a good point about the family's reaction

The receptionist lady ruined the surprise of telling her mother that she was pregnant. I think it's safe to say that we would all be a little upset if this happened to us.

She's right, if it was someone else in a different situation, it may have ended differently. I mean, what else is this receptionist willing to tell.

Summary of the situation...

Basically, a receptionist at the doctor's office told a woman's mom that she was pregnant before she could even tell her mom.

Here come the responses..

HIPAA is used to protect from these instances occurring. It is not different just because the receptionist was friends with her mother. It still should have been confidential.

This situation could have happened to anyone with any news. Doctors and any healthcare workers are to keep all patient information confidential.

Huge HIPAA Violation

Yes, the OB office definitely needs to know because that's completely unacceptable. She should be reported.

Who knows how many others she's done this to just because she's friends with the family.

She's right about that too

You never know how the family will react to a pregnancy announcement. If her mom hadn't been excited and it was the opposite reaction, then it could have been a very bad situation.

Classic case of not minding their business. Very disrespectful to share news that isn't yours to share.

Definitely could have been a worse scenario with someone else.

Another person saying to report her.

It's sad that someone else had a similar situation. This type of situation is not okay and should be reported no matter what.

This is a situation where things got worse once the news was shared when it wasn't supposed to be, and by who it wasn't supposed to be.

Right!

Reporting her seems like the logical explanation. She shouldn't have done what she did.

It's safe to say that we'd all be upset if this happened to us.

"Major dick move"

Very true, she knew she'd tell your mother before you could tell her. Very cenacle of her to share the news deliberately knowing that she'd tell her mom first.

We just want to know what her goal was.

Thinking about this situation can make anyone angry. This girl deserves all of the justice that she can get.

Pretty much everyone agrees that the receptionist was in the wrong and should get fired for violating HIPAA agreement. I'm just glad her mom is happy and they are celebrating the news.

Comment below what you think about this story and how you'd react if this happened to you.

Daphnie