Warning about your personal medical records

**nwmissourigal** · 02-04-2007, 12:04 AM

When I recieved my weekly paper this week, I was shocked to learn that a hospital in the greater Kansas City area had dismissed all of the girls who do the transcpritions. They were only given a weeks notice. I was recently in this hospital for back surgery and had I know what this hosptial was doing I probably would have opted not to go there. Apparently they have hired a transcription firm in the Atlanta area and they inturn send your medical records to Pakistan to be typed for 2 to 3 cents a line. What disturbed me is the Hippa laws do not apply outside of the US. In California a woman from Pakistan had not been paid for her work and threaten to put people medical records on the internet!! This is so shocking to me as I have worked in the medical field for 32 years. Our doctor dictation goes to a reputable transcription firm in the Kansas City area and that is where it stays. I am not sure that I like the fact that my medical records along with all my personal information is going out of the country. Has anyone else heard of this before. Like I said I was shocked. I did write a letter to the editor of our paper and he read it and said it would be printed next week. The US has been outsourcing for years. I am so against outsourcing and this practice has put many Americans outta jobs!! You can be sure that I will be calling this hospital on Monday morning and find out where my medical records are. I will never use this hospital again and I will let them know that. Maybe I am naive and this has been going on under my nose. But I work at a large hospital in the KC area and all of our dictation stay at our hospital. Just a little FYI for everyone...it may be a good question to ask if you ever have to be hospitalized...

**Marie78** · 02-04-2007, 12:58 AM

Wow, now that's something to think about! I can't believe something so personal, as health records, could be given such little care and consideration. Not to mention the loss of American jobs because of this! I'll have to keep my eyes and ears open to this new development (or old, depending on how long it's been happening without our knowledge).

**PrairieRose** · 02-04-2007, 10:35 AM

That's awful! I hate the thought of that....! I'm with you Kathy, outsourcing is a terrible practice.

**kaykwilts** · 02-04-2007, 02:59 PM

They are just asking for a lawsuit if they allow personal medical records to be treated like this.

**HandyMom** · 02-04-2007, 04:51 PM

My doctor was able to bring up my medical records from the hospital on his computer in an instant. The only thing he couldn't see, he said, was my private physician records. He had all my surgeries, test results, medications, everything, right there.

They told me that my x-rays were sent to Australia to be read and then results sent back. The x-ray technicians said that it was cheaper than paying a doctor on staff just to read the x-rays. They said, "Who's going to pay to keep a doctor here to do just that? The hospital can't afford it".

I wonder just how much of my medical info is floating around in cyberspace.

**nwmissourigal** · 02-04-2007, 10:44 PM

In my job with the surgeons I have access to the hospital records. I can pull them up in an instance but I can also pull up there personal information. We do this to be able to put them in the computer, make a chart for them, get their insurance information and so on. We do this because most of our patients come to us thru the hospital and we phyiscally don't see the patient until after surgery for their post op appointment. However, this information is protected by hippa and we are not allowed to give it to anyone else. You would be surprised at the insurance companies that call us and want our records without the patients signature. We won't even give patients private records to their own insurance companies without the patients signature. Which is the way it is supposed to be. Outsourcing is an epidemic in the US. It is scarey to think about everything that is floating around in cyberspace. Medical records are personal. You can be sure that tomorrow morning I will be calling this hospital and asking where my medical recorded are being sent to.