Anyone in need of personal assistance with sensitive information, whether that's medical care, higher education, taxes, or something else of high importance, needs to understand the importance of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).
Employees at these offices are required, under all circumstances, to verify a person's identity and to verify that the verified person has access to the file in question before sharing any information inside that file.
TikToker @maddy.aubry knew something was wrong right away when she and her husband, who was trying to be supportive by setting up an OB-GYN appointment for her to prepare for their second child, did not receive a call back regarding a future appointment.
Instead, a receptionist from the OB-GYN office in question called the TikToker's husband's ex-wife. When the ex-wife answered, the receptionist did not confirm her identity. She jumped right into the conversation and shared personal details about the pregnancy and the upcoming appointment plans.
TikToker @maddy.aubry was shocked and confused by what happened, and she called the office to figure out how and why this happened, and how to prevent it from happening again.
While the relationship between the TikToker and the ex-wife are on good terms, she'd obviously not want future lab results and other details to be shared with the ex-wife without her consent.
You can watch the TikTok video here:
Fellow TikTokers immediately urged TikToker @maddy.aubry to pursue legal action for a HIPAA violation.
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
But then the situation got even worse, according to TikToker @maddy.aubry's next video.
After first being connected with the wrong office and being rudely spoken to by a front desk receptionist, she was able to connect with the proper OB-GYN office location, where one of the front desk receptionists admitted to what had happened.
The receptionist actually had actually made not one, but two HIPAA violations.
When she responded to the voicemail from the TikToker's husband, instead of calling him back at the number he provided, she instead logged into his medical file without cause to look through his emergency contacts. His ex-wife was still listed somewhere in his file, and she used that phone number to set up the appointment instead of calling him back directly.
Then when a woman picked up, the receptionist did not confirm her identity and instead went into personal detail about the pregnancy and the upcoming appointment, only for it to later be discovered that she'd been sharing that information with the wrong woman all along.
You can watch the second video here:
Fellow TikTokers urged TikToker @maddy.aubry to seek legal action for not one, but two, HIPAA violations.
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
@maddy.aubry/TikTok
We're all human here, and mistakes and misunderstandings do happen.
However, anyone who has ever worked in an office with confidential information and HIPAA regulations in place can attest to the severity of these mistakes.
Before disclosing personal information that would violate HIPAA, employees are required to confirm a person's identity, not just by name but through some other source of information, like an account number or personal identification number. Then they have to confirm if the person they are speaking to is actually the person they can speak to about the information in that account, whether they're the person in question or a verified point of contact.
From the sound of it, the receptionist simply heard what sounded like a woman's voice and used that as a green light for conversation, instead of going through the crucial steps of identity verification. While OB-GYN and other medical practice offices tend to be very busy and fast-paced, this is exactly why the people who work there are expected to be solid workers under stress, so that mistakes like this don't happen, even during rush hour.
