They are selling our personal medical records!

[DogPoundPup]

Another problem with for-profit healthcare. They are selling our personal health care information to the highest bidder! A gap in the HIPAA law, the very law that is suppose to protect an individual's privacy, has it such that greedy companies are selling our private information... This is the latest example of just how broken the corporate healthcare system has become in the United States of America. It is a national disgrace.

Listen to Monday's (12/22/08) edition of the Brain Labor Report and hear guest Linda Ackerman describe gross violations of the HIPAA law (holes in the law) and how companies like CVS-Caremark sell prescription information to drug manufacturers and other third parties--such as health, life and long term insurers. >>>Listen Here: http://www.kskq.org/brainlabor/?p=432

Continue reading ... http://rogueimc.org/en/2008/12/14327.shtml

[Phred42]

1. It's nothing personal - it's just business

so - where can I buy Jeb's medical records?

Or Ann Coulters....I still want to know.

[babylonsister]

3. I'd like to see Palin's record, and what she failed to tell everyone. nt

[Phred42]

4. good point

but I'm reeeeealy curious what ol Ann is packin'

[Belial]

2. They have been doing this stuff for years..

This is nothing new..

[tbyg52]

12. Uh, and that makes it less outrageous how.....? nt

[panAmerican]

5. FYI: Fast foward 14 minutes to hear the interview

with Linda Ackerman. Just lots of music before that point.

[Justyce]

6. The majority of our medical records are being transcribed in India now.

I know because I lost my last job when they sent the entire department to India. I have seen their work -- they can't even speak English very well, so the records are FULL of mistakes. It's very scary considering how important that information is with diagnoses, medication dosages, etc. This is something that needs to be stopped ASAP.


Edited to add: Your personal info is in these records including name, address, date of birth, social security number, etc., and our HIPAA privacy laws do not apply in India.

[Ilsa]

9. Yeah, there was a problem about 3-4 years ago with an American

company that was using labor in India to transcribe. Actually, I think it was a California hospital that had contracted with a company in Texas that had contracted with a company in Florida ... on and on.

So, the final American contracter had fallen behind in paying the transcribers in India. One brave soul told them that she had backed up thousands of medical records and she was going to post them all - names, SSNs, etc - on the internet if the American company didn't pay the workers right away. They got paid, and the CA hospital fired the company they had done business with.

[mopinko]

10. all my stuff is going straight into the computer. they taught all the docs to

type. they type with you are talking. everything is pretty instant. i like it, but i never thought it was secure. and i always assumed it was shared with lots of people. sad, but true.

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. Beauty of no insurance.

I have no insurance.
Live in a small town.
Had a shingles attack.
first time seeing our local GP.
They give me a one page form to fill out, basic stuff, allergies, etc. not a lot of info. requested.
I Ignore the SS# part.
Return form. They ask for SS#. I ask what other info. can they use. They don't push it.
5 min. later I go in to see Dr., she takes one look at the area, says Yep, shingles, and I get much much needed pain script.
In and out less than 15.00 minutes.
Total visit $56.00 plus 9.00 for pills later at pharmacy, refills needed about every week x 8 weeks ( it was a bad attack ) never saw Doc. again.
couple times had to call clinic to authorize re-fill, via nurse assistant.
Total cost of the episode was less than one month health insurance payment.

And now I realize that since I have no insurance, I could given them any name.

I am seriously thinking that if my records are no so private, I do not need to be so open about information.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. The main problem with healthcare in the US is that it is for profit

I had my eyes opened about this at the local Obama health meeting last night. A physician passionately explained that the problem is that insurance companies are in it for the money--that is their nature. And she also said that they have no desire to curb health costs, because the more expensive the treatment, the more money the insurance company gets to keep.

I will also say that our little non-profit health care clinic doesn't share any medical records without the patient's consent. Maybe we need more outfits like ours.

[tbyg52]

13. For-profit healthcare should be an oxymoron. nt

[Th1onein]

14. Explain this statement to me, please:

"And she also said that they have no desire to curb health costs, because the more expensive the treatment, the more money the insurance company gets to keep."

I don't understand how this would work. Please explain.

[TahitiNut]

15. Corporate profitability is usually assessed as one or more "quick ratios."

When, for example, oil companies pay more at the well-head for crude oil, they then add a mark-up that's a PERCENTAGE of their costs. That means that the higher their expenses then the higher in absolute terms their profits ... as a percentage of costs. This is not an unknown systemic effect of imposition of fees, taxes, and other factors on the EXPENSES of doing business. Investors/owners expect profits to have a relationship to costs. Thus, when the COSTS of health care increase, the "corporate mentality" is to adjust prices in a manner that maintains profits as a percentage of such expenses.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

16. Here's how it works

An insurance company is required to pay out $X of the premiums they get each year. They can keep only a certain percentage--let's say 10%. If the health care costs are high, premiums must be high--so instead of keeping 10% of say $1 million in premiums, they keep 10% of $1 BILLION in premiums.

[Th1onein]

17. I gotcha. Thanks to both of you.

NOW, I'm pissed.

[earth mom]

8. This pisses me off! BUT-does this mean we get to see Sarah Palins medical records

to see if she really gave birth to Trig? O8)

[panAmerican]

11. Here's the link to the report that started this

http://www.alarmedaboutcvscaremark.org/

[acmavm]

18. Of course they do. You're suprised?

edit: There used to be positions in the Want Ads for people just to copy medical records.