**Ga. Nurses, We need Help!!!

NurseKittyAtlanta · Aug 13, 2006

As long as the BON insists on posting personal information for all to see, why not do what I did? Get a PO Box from your local post office, and list that as your address on the BON website. It cost me around $40 per year for a small box. When I type in my name on the BON site now, it only shows a PO box which would do a nosey patient no good in trying to locate information about me.

I found it odd when I first moved to Georgia that they list so openly list personal information like this. At least in North Carolina, someone had to know your social security number in order to pull up your BON records. (In other words, only a potential employer or someone else with access to your SSN could look you up.)

NurseKittyAtlanta · Aug 13, 2006

Please go to this website and request that your personal information gets removed from this public file.
http://www.sos.state.ga.us/plb/

Where is one supposed to go within the above website to make a request? I was not able to find a link for what you are describing.

bchboy · Aug 14, 2006

nursekitty, here is the reply i got from to the letter i sent to the secretary of state, it doesn't look good for us. changing a law in ga is just rediculous.

at least we can change it to our place of practice or a po box. i would just hate not to do anything about this and have someone hurt because of it. too bad hippa doesn't protect us.

thank you for contacting secretary of state cathy cox’s office to express your concerns regarding the public listing of address information for registered nurses on our agency’s website. please know that we understand your concerns and we appreciate the opportunity to address the issue you have presented.

in response, georgia law (ocga 43-1-2) requires the state board of nursing to make names and addresses of licensees available to the public. however, we have many practitioners who share your concerns regarding their privacy, and they are given the option to provide the board with a practice address or a post office box for the public listing. any changes to this law would require action by the georgia general assembly; therefore, if you feel that it should be changed, you may want to share your concerns with the state representative and/or senator for your district.

if you would like to change the public or mailing address information currently on file with our professional licensing boards division, you are welcome to send the new contact information to their attention, either via mail or fax, or you may update the information online. for your convenience, each of these contact options is listed below:

secretary of state professional licensing boards division

state board of nursing

237 coliseum drive

macon, georgia 31217-3858

phone: (478) 207-2440

fax: (478) 207-1632

www.sos.state.ga.us/plb/rn/

again, we appreciate hearing from you and hope this information serves to alleviate your concerns. if the office of the secretary of state can be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

sincerely,

ava turner

webmail coordinator

office of secretary of state cathy cox

214 state capitol

atlanta, georgia 30334

(404) 656-2881

i may try to start contacting my senator and representatives when i get some time to scribe a nice long letter. we had to do this in nursing school for the nurse practioner prescroption act and i am glad i have some experience doing this stuff now.

thanks for your interest

jim

NurseKittyAtlanta · Aug 14, 2006

While I agree with you that it is uncomfortable having personal information readily available to anyone who searches for it, I feel that even if the law is changed there it would still be just as easy for someone to track you down using other methods. Public records, such as real estate sales/purchases, are available to anyone with an internet connection, and your full name, address, tax records, etc. are all viewable with a click of the mouse. Such records were particularly scary when I lived in North Carolina ... not only could someone locate the beforementioned information, they could also click on a link to show a full-color photograph and floor plan of your home, as well as a map showing directions. If someone were going to track you down, I doubt they'd bother checking out the board of nursing web site when much more information is available through other sources, none of which we can control.

jamangel · Sep 18, 2006

It's not just RN's it's everyone. I have a PO Box as well.

NurseguyFL · Sep 18, 2006

This is not unique to Georgia. Here in Florida, the DOH posts our full names, addresses, and license numbers on their website, too. And, its not only RNs but every healthcare worker licensed by the state. Anyone can look up your information on the state's website.

timewood · Sep 20, 2006

:eek:

Oh. My. Lord.

I regularly take care of plenty of patients that I would NOT want to be able to find me by finding my home address. I looked my name up and to add to it- there are only a handful of nurses with my first name that practice in this area. It would not be that hard to find my house.

:sofahider

Sadly, the older I get and the more I learn about Georgia the less I am inclined to stay in my home state :innerconf -Hope grant or no Hope grant.

How typical. And how stupid. :angryfire

I am applying to change to a PO Box ASAP.

...And if you will notice, I have previously posted questions regarding relocating to North Carolina...I know that it has it's evils too but I am so tired of high taxes, crummy law enforcement, bad schools, floods of meth (and property crime) and even crummier state and local government. :madface:

shoot!