KAISER KAISER HIPPA VIOLATIONS Fremont California
This complaint is about Kaiser and the HIPPA laws that are suppose to protect us and our medical information, I'm still dealing with this and this happened on January of 2012. The Office of Civil Rights in San Francisco California needs to be investigated because of what they did to me in 2012 when I filed a complaint about Kaiser giving my medical and personal information to a complete stranger. They just slapped Kaiser on the hand so I appealed their decission.
I had a doctors appointment in Orthopedics when I went up to the receptionist to register. She kept telling me my co-pay was $45.00 I told her it is $40.00. She kept insisting so I charged $45.00 on my credit card and got my receipt along with the sticky note the receptionist had given to me so that I could call membership services. I was on the phone with them for three minutes. When I looked up at the clock it was 2:50 pm I then looked down at my paperwork (receipt) and it wasn't even mine, It was some man's medical and personal information which showed "Reprint" at the top of the page. His appointment was at 2:30 pm mine was 2:15 pm and I was the only person in the waiting room. That is when I got up and went to the same receptionist and told her that I had someone else's medical and personal information. I told her give me MY receipt and tell me how much my co-pay is she stated it was $40.00 that is when I told her next time listen to what someone is telling you. My receipt had "Reprint" at the top and there were 35 people (numbers) from my "Reprint" receipt to this man's. So there are at least 35 people that go to Kaiser that have "Reprint" receipts and someone else's information. Needless to say I kept all the paperwork and I never did get to see the doctor that day.
Kaiser stated numerous times in letters to the Office of Civil Rights and to me that they can assure that my medical and personal information had not been given to anybody Really? I told them then you give me my original receipt which doesn't have "Reprint" on it and I will forget the whole matter. This shouldn't be a problem since it should have never been printed out because I had not registered yet! The other interesting thing was when I filed my first complaint when I went to the doctor in February of 2012 the clock that was on the wall had been taken down.
Both the manager and the receptionist lied about what happened and it slapped them right in the face. When you lie like this you better know what the other person has on you before you lie. As far as Membership services complaints being addressed they send you letters that make them look so bad that they don't even know how bad they look. So when they tell you to call them and leave a message they never return your call even though they tell you in the letter to call them if you have any questions.
Then in May of this year 2013 somone NOT ME called for a refill on an antibiotic I had been prescribed in April 2013. I didn't know anything about this until I got a call from my doctor's office telling me that the prescription that I had called for and left a message at 4:00 am in the morning would not be filled. So much for privacy! I also shoved this up The Civil Rights Office along with The Department of Managed Health Care where the sun doesn' t shine! How would you feel if you knew someone had all your information?
I have heard nothing from The Office of Civil Rights or the Department of Managed Health Care as far as the Appeal goes. What has happened here is that there are so many HIPPA violations that Kaiser has violated according to the law that it is down right scary.
I have the documents to upload but I have to print them out to block certain information from being uploaded. Then I will scan them and put them with this report.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
Irvine,California,
Please do..
#3Consumer Comment
Tue, September 03, 2013
Okay first off if you can't even get the name of what you are accusing them of violating correct..one has to wonder about the rest of your "RipOff". Just for your information it not HIPPA it is HIPAA(Heath Information Portability and Accountability Act).
Next, exactly why are you reporting these violations to the "Office of Civil Rights"? Did HIPAA all of the sudden become a Civil Rights issue that I am not aware of? While we are on the subject of violations, what exactly does the fact that they took their clock down have to do with ANY of this?
But let's go back to your "complaints". Okay mistakes happen and yes they "shouldn't" happen but I could imagine that if your appointment was at 2:15 you got there before that time. You then looked at the clock 35 minutes later. Well if you were arguing with someone for 35 minutes anyone would be a bit flustered and it could be very likely that she just gave you the wrong paper by mistake.
Next, someone called in a prescription for you at 4AM? How exactly is this a violation? I've had people call in refills for me are you saying that HIPAA states that only the person the prescription is for can call in refills? If so please tell us where in this act that is. Or because of the rest of your report are you somehow saying that because of the doctors visit you went to over a year before, someone got your information and they knew you would be prescribed an anit-biotic over a year later and just to "mess" with you they figure they would call in a refill? Yea..makes total sense. I hear cases all the time of people just calling in refills for other people just to give them grief.
Now don't get me wrong. Regardless of what you called this act, the first case where you got the receipt "could" be considered a violation. But when you add in everything else you have put into this report it puts even that claim into doubt. Where quite frankly it has you comming off looking like a well...
Anyways I really hope you do post your documents. I am sure that they will be very interesting reading.
Stacey
Dallas,Texas,
It is HIPAA not Hippa
#3Consumer Comment
Tue, September 03, 2013
HIPAA - General Information
The Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA, Title II) require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to adopt national standards for electronic health care transactions and national identifiers for providers, health plans, and employers. To date, the implementation of HIPAA standards has increased the use of electronic data interchange. Provisions under the Affordable Care Act of 2010 will further these increases and include requirements to adopt:
In addition, health plans will be required to certify their compliance. The Act provides for substantial penalties for failures to certify or comply with the new standards and operating rules.
For more information regarding HIPAA including additional provisions under the Patient Protections and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act or ACA) of 2010, go to the "Related Links Outside CMS".
Research your facts! Mistakes happen!