A tough lesson on medical privacy in California

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist David Lazarus says that a violation of medical privacy at UCSF Medical Center, in which a woman in Pakistan doing clerical work for the hospital threatened to post patients' confidential files on the Internet unless she was paid more money, highlights the danger of "offshoring" work that involves sensitive materials.

San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 22, 2003

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/10/22/MNGCO2FN8G1.DTL

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Congress has tired my hands when dealing with patients and their families as far as communications. It has stuck it's nose in so many places in healthcare that it does not belong it is getting to be a pain. However, the real problems like the one reported here are not being dealt with by this silly law.

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Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Med-Surg.

Sounds like a good fund-raising idea to me for someone out of reach of US authorities. Why not?

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Wow Joe, love the attitude. Guess they will have to rethink "cheap labor" .

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When I was trying to get out of nursing, I looked into transcription. So, this is why there are no jobs in the field!

We are sending private medical records to foreign countries to be transcribed, because its cheaper!

I'm sure that HIPAA laws don't apply in Pakistan!

What next?

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Specializes in MS Home Health.

Cripe and the hospital I was fired from was worried about my worksheet...............sigh.

renerian

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Originally posted by renerian

Cripe and the hospital I was fired from was worried about my worksheet...............sigh.

renerian

:roll :roll :roll Very ironic eh?

Noney

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Originally posted by Hellllllo Nurse

When I was trying to get out of nursing, I looked into transcription. So, this is why there are no jobs in the field!

We are sending private medical records to foreign countries to be transcribed, because its cheaper!

I'm sure that HIPAA laws don't apply in Pakistan!

What next?

I have also looked into transcription and had no idea that this kind of thing was going on. A new form of terrorism - holding medical records over someone's head and threatening to expose a person. Records handed to them by this country! Unbelievable. :angryfire

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Specializes in MS Home Health.

I agree Brita. Not good. renerian

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