Privacy

HIPAA Privacy Rule - protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information

I have to admit, I'm a novice when it comes to experiencing health care delivery beyond the borders of the U.S. So this Caribe healthcare experience has been truly "new" in many, many ways. But one of the most amazing to me, it the protection of privacy. To the extent possible, the providers do their best, but in a population of less than 5,000 where everyone knows everyone, is that really possible?

Further exacerbating the situation is the rather free flowing way that care is delivered and how patient privacy is protected, or not. One encounter truly summed that up for me the other day.

I am sitting with the doc in his private office. There are 3 doors entering the room from the hallway, the next door treatment room, and an adjacent patient room.

A patient walks in with another person and sits down near the physicians desk. I thought the other person was family or close friend. Au contraire! They hardly knew each other. It was the "next" patient in line, sharing the space. But it didn't seem to matter to the patient. Just then the door flies open and a nurse from the hospital, and the hospital administrator walk in. They engage the physician in a conversation about a patient and his family (by name) needing assistance. During the conversation, the nurse next door enters another door and announces that Mr. So and so is ready to see the doc in the treatment room. When the midwife walked in to consult the doc about Ms. such and such and her baby, a phone call engaged the doc in a conversation about Mr. Some and such coming back on island after seeing a specialist.

I looked around. There were 7 of us in the room, and the doc on the phone. Everyone heard everything about everybody. The patient, patiently awaited attention to be turned back on her and her headache.

HIPAA Privacy; apparently, just a formality.