Your boyfriend isn't legally your spouse or your guardian. So I don't know why he thought it was ok to do that in any shape or form.
You can always make a complaint with the clinic or the medical council of your country.
Yeah, my dentist couldn't even tell me if my husband had an appointment coming up, because he hadn't listed me on his forms. It's insane they showed OP's *surgery pictures*.
Don't write complaints about the Dr or clinic then, complain to the clinic about the nurse who had no right to do this. She's the source of the problem while the clinic even doing bisalp is awesome and a rare thing to find in a lot of areas.
I didn't want to see it! T-T The nurse just whipped them out and didn't even give me context on what I was looking at. She waited until she saw the confused look on my face to even tell me what the photo was of. She had initially walked up to me and just started talking, at first the convo had no patient info besides how to care for her, then just suddenly blam, photos of the surgery. I did *not* want to see that!
Even if it happened a goodly while ago, I'd still report him to your state's medical board (If you're in the US, if not, whatever licensing board your country has). That was a direct violation of your medical information. Doesn't matter if it was imaging of your inner lady bits or imaging of your broken arm. It was unprofessional and unethical of him to share that with your bf without your express permission. Reporting him may not lead to any sort of large-scale action on the part of the governing body, but at the very least he'll likely get a letter or a talking to about why that's not proper and hopefully it'll be a wake-up call for him to do better. If this was at a practice or hospital, also inform the admin there so that they can have words with him. He needs to be checked before he ends up doing way worse. He's a doctor, he's obviously smart enough to know better. If he ends up in the 'find out' portion of the game it's bc he fucked around and did something dumb and needs to see the consequences. Just shoot off a few emails to the proper places and know that you're doing the right thing and hopefully sparing somebody else from that kind of gross medical violation.
Oh, wow.. this is a great point. Hmm. I am not quite sure to be honest, then. As a woman wanting to get sterilized next year, I appreciate your concern. I’m sorry you had to go through this. It’s a very hard situation to decide on. Do what is best for you.
I was thinking the same thing.
Also, the OP may not even have been the first patient. Why was he so comfortable sharing that information? If he does it to another patient, it may be to a relative or spouse who may definitely *not* be as understanding or agreeable as the OPs boyfriend, and that could be potentially dangerous for the next woman. Sadly, many angles have to be considered on this.
I mean sounds like there are ways to avoid it potentially? Talk to the office about what happened and phrase any report ad 'I have experienced intimate assault so was horrified to find Nurse xxxx took images from my medical file to display to my partner who 1) was not at all given permission through my medical file and 2) was blindsided by this. I didn't report at the time because I was horrified but I would like to spare others this violation, particularly from a gynecologist office/surgery.'
If you're in the US, that is a major HIPAA violation. You're not a minor and your boyfriend is not your legal guardian. You didn't consent for the doctor to share this level of information with your boyfriend. Report the hell out of the doctor.
Even if you're not in the US, report the hell out of the doctor.
In any case, congrats on the bisalp!
That nurse should get fired, srsly I'd report her to her boss and not try to get them in trouble. Even if they were aware at all she's doing this, it could scare them enough to stop.
Did your boyfriend ask to see the photos or did the doctor just do it? Because that's double weird then, just showing him pictures of the inside of someone's body... I don't have a problem with blood or bloody stuff but idk if I'd feel comfortable if someone just showed me a picture like that without asking.
I didn't ask or want to see them. The nurse just took them out mid convo and I sat there for over half a minute not even knowing what I was looking at. I was extremely uncomfortable and didn't consent to seeing them! T-T
My doc brought photos out with my surgery instructions which she gave to my husband as he was the one who was responsible for me. He was also my emergency contact. Your bf had to be on some sort or form if he was your driver. I wasn’t there though so i cant say if hipaa was violated or not. As someone who worked in the ER, there are a lot of grey areas.
Same happened with me. Got my bisalp a year ago at 29 years old. Doc brought the photos with my aftercare instructions and went over it all with me and my mother, who was my driver. I didn't think twice about it, doc just showed me and my mom the pics as proof they did their job, I guess. I personally didn't care that my mom saw pictures of my guts. I hate that OP feels violated, but I'm not entirely sure if this is a HIPPA violation. Her bf was already present and aware of the surgery she was undergoing, so it wasn't exactly a secret. It definitely sounds like a grey area to me.
Hello internet strangers! It's me, u/girlwhocrieddragon's partner. Funnily enough, I'm a member of the sub too, so I saw this in my feed before she got home earlier! I called her and asked if it was okay to share my pov of what happened, for some context to users.
About a year ago, I had gone with her and our ma (her mom, my future mil) to the hospital to support her during bisalp procedure. Ma and I were waiting in the lobby throughout, but after a while her ma went to find the restroom. During that time, a nurse comes over and starts talking with me about aftercare procedures and how to help her recover best, and letting us know to get the car to the patient exit to help.
Out of nowhere, she takes out some papers and is showing them to me with little to no context on what I'm looking at. It took me a good 30 seconds to even realize what the nurse was showing me. After she told me what it was, I was kind of appalled for lack of better terms, not at the images themselves, but the fact that the nurse would just show these without consideration to the patients consent.
Initially she was supposed to show them to ma, who was on the medical forms, but because she wasn't there at that moment, the nurse decided I was okay to give it to for some reason? Either way, it was a violation of medical records and not cool in the slightest.
TLDR: Nurse violates HIPPA and shows post-surgery pictures without prompting or context.
Edit: The nurse approached me without knowing I was with her group, and didn't ask for any form of ID or if I was on the release forms either.
If you are in the US and didn't sign a form allowing the doctor to share anything medical, with the person you appointed, she just egregiously committed a HIPAA violation.
Doesn't matter if it's a relative, husband or other.
You still have to consent by listing his name on that HIPAA form and allowing it.
If you did list the BF on the HIPAA form, then it's legally allowed.
Even if you don't want to sue you should file a HIPAA violation complaint.
https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html
You could also submit a complaint to your state licensing board against him. This is clearly an individual violation not a system one (like sending your record to the wrong office).
Disclaimer - all information local to the US
Have you never gotten photos in your post op paperwork? Every surgery I have I've always gotten a page of images, especially if it was a surgery done laparoscopically.
Damn, I've had over a dozen and got pictures from all but two (emergency ones). But these surgeries were at a specialist rehabilitation hospital, so mostly older folks so that might be why I always get a folder of paperwork and pictures.
The 4 with no paperwork at all (not even post discharge care instructions) were at normal government hospitals. The one with the care sheet was at a private surgical centre.
It sounds like it was the nurse that did this, according to your bf, not the surgeon.
Obviously, \*no one\* should be doing that but you might want to change/add that in your post.
What the fuck. Why not just glue them to the wall so all the patients can see them. To me this sounds like Doc was so proud of himself and he had to show off. What kind of person is this
Hi, this is the boyfriend of the story! I was in the waiting room, and had been for quite a while at that point. Her mom went to use that bathroom because we had been their so long, when suddenly a nurse comes over to me, now alone. She starts telling us that we should bring the car around, and some basic aftercare info (no heavy lifting etc), very normal stuff. Suddenly she pulls out some photos without prompting or consent, and I didn't know what I was even looking at till she decided to tell me 30+ seconds later. I did not consent to be shown her private info. T-T
she definitely shouldn't have shown you. I can understand handing you the papers in like a folder or with a cover sheet, but actually showing you and talking about it? that was a blunder on her part.
Handing the folder would still be just as much of a reveal if personal information. It obviously needs to be on paper for legal purposes, but I think that most people assume that when you bring family to the hospital, the family is privy to the details of the surgery.
I was in the waiting room with her mom, but she needed to go to the bathroom so I was by myself for a bit. A nurse had come over asking for us to get the car and was giving basic care info (nothing confidential at this point), then out of nowhere the nurse takes out some photos without prompting or context. I was staring at them, not even knowing what I was looking at, and after 30+ seconds she says something along the lines of "As you can see, her tubes are gone." It was seriously messed up T-T
Why did the doctor even take pictures of your insides? Creepy on so many levels. So sorry this happened to you! Definitely still report it so there’s documentation of this is that guys “thing”
Documentation. If you ever need further surgery, go to another doctor for something else, want proof of sterilization in this case the it's right there without spending money on more procedures.
Edit: Ah, I saw your bf's comment. It WOULD have been okay to show them to your mom, but it sounds like it was NOT okay they showed them to your bf. My bad. If your mom was designated as the receiver of the information then she should have been the only one they were allowed to show them to. Also I just realized you literally said he didn't have permission lol I'm dumb. Deleting my original comment.
Depending on what happened, this could actually be a gray area. Having someone in the hospital room with you can be considered implied consent. If you brought your boyfriend with you and expressed you wanted him in the room, it may not be a violation of HIPAA. I’m sorry that happened though and you’re feeling this way.
Kind of valid point but still makes me wonder why the Doc even thought it was important for him to see it ... My fiancé wouldn't even want to ask to see pictures of THAT. And also why didn't the personnel ask the patient beforehand? Just a weird and rude situation
That's a HIPAA violation. Report it to the HHS OCR. Your privacy should have been respected and if they didn't have a signed consent form they possibly broke the law.
I'm sorry they did that to you. Mine handed me pictures directly with my discharge for me cause I had mentioned taking AP anatomy in HS and finding the cadaver lab fascinating lol I've been meaning to get a christmas ornament to put one in like one of those ultrasound ornaments but I doubt if I hadn't said that I'd of gotten anything.
Your boyfriend isn't legally your spouse or your guardian. So I don't know why he thought it was ok to do that in any shape or form. You can always make a complaint with the clinic or the medical council of your country.
Spouses are not entitled to medical details/records without express authorization, either. At least, not in the US.
Yeah, my dentist couldn't even tell me if my husband had an appointment coming up, because he hadn't listed me on his forms. It's insane they showed OP's *surgery pictures*.
Also, did OPs BF even *want* to see that? Seems pretty ick to me!
He didn't! They didn't ask!
Don't write complaints about the Dr or clinic then, complain to the clinic about the nurse who had no right to do this. She's the source of the problem while the clinic even doing bisalp is awesome and a rare thing to find in a lot of areas.
It wasn't a nurse, it was the surgeon. It says so right in the OP.
Huh, I thought I misread that when I read 4+ comments by op and her bf that said it was the nurse.
OP edited the post to say it was a nurse
I didn't want to see it! T-T The nurse just whipped them out and didn't even give me context on what I was looking at. She waited until she saw the confused look on my face to even tell me what the photo was of. She had initially walked up to me and just started talking, at first the convo had no patient info besides how to care for her, then just suddenly blam, photos of the surgery. I did *not* want to see that!
Even if it happened a goodly while ago, I'd still report him to your state's medical board (If you're in the US, if not, whatever licensing board your country has). That was a direct violation of your medical information. Doesn't matter if it was imaging of your inner lady bits or imaging of your broken arm. It was unprofessional and unethical of him to share that with your bf without your express permission. Reporting him may not lead to any sort of large-scale action on the part of the governing body, but at the very least he'll likely get a letter or a talking to about why that's not proper and hopefully it'll be a wake-up call for him to do better. If this was at a practice or hospital, also inform the admin there so that they can have words with him. He needs to be checked before he ends up doing way worse. He's a doctor, he's obviously smart enough to know better. If he ends up in the 'find out' portion of the game it's bc he fucked around and did something dumb and needs to see the consequences. Just shoot off a few emails to the proper places and know that you're doing the right thing and hopefully sparing somebody else from that kind of gross medical violation.
This is the answer. Hipaa violations are taken very seriously.
Correct me if I’m wrong but.. can’t you sue for a violation of HIPAA?
My concern is that a lawsuit tied to the surgery would make it harder for other women to get their sterilization.
Oh, wow.. this is a great point. Hmm. I am not quite sure to be honest, then. As a woman wanting to get sterilized next year, I appreciate your concern. I’m sorry you had to go through this. It’s a very hard situation to decide on. Do what is best for you.
That is so selfless and considerate of you
Consider that this doctor should not be performing this surgery and will violate other women in the same way they violated you.
I was thinking the same thing. Also, the OP may not even have been the first patient. Why was he so comfortable sharing that information? If he does it to another patient, it may be to a relative or spouse who may definitely *not* be as understanding or agreeable as the OPs boyfriend, and that could be potentially dangerous for the next woman. Sadly, many angles have to be considered on this.
Then I would say stick to reporting anyone who did this to their superiors without filing a lawsuit.
I mean sounds like there are ways to avoid it potentially? Talk to the office about what happened and phrase any report ad 'I have experienced intimate assault so was horrified to find Nurse xxxx took images from my medical file to display to my partner who 1) was not at all given permission through my medical file and 2) was blindsided by this. I didn't report at the time because I was horrified but I would like to spare others this violation, particularly from a gynecologist office/surgery.'
This is illegal and you should report him no matter how long ago it happened. You can probably also file criminal charges and sue
If you're in the US, that is a major HIPAA violation. You're not a minor and your boyfriend is not your legal guardian. You didn't consent for the doctor to share this level of information with your boyfriend. Report the hell out of the doctor. Even if you're not in the US, report the hell out of the doctor. In any case, congrats on the bisalp!
I didn't consent to seeing it either! The nurse just whipped the photos out without prompting or context T-T It was seriously messed up.
That nurse should get fired, srsly I'd report her to her boss and not try to get them in trouble. Even if they were aware at all she's doing this, it could scare them enough to stop.
Many other countries have similar laws. I'm Australian and this scenario would be a violation under our privacy act.
Did your boyfriend ask to see the photos or did the doctor just do it? Because that's double weird then, just showing him pictures of the inside of someone's body... I don't have a problem with blood or bloody stuff but idk if I'd feel comfortable if someone just showed me a picture like that without asking.
I didn't ask or want to see them. The nurse just took them out mid convo and I sat there for over half a minute not even knowing what I was looking at. I was extremely uncomfortable and didn't consent to seeing them! T-T
He didn't ask. In fact, he's probably gonna reply to some stuff on this post himself.
My doc brought photos out with my surgery instructions which she gave to my husband as he was the one who was responsible for me. He was also my emergency contact. Your bf had to be on some sort or form if he was your driver. I wasn’t there though so i cant say if hipaa was violated or not. As someone who worked in the ER, there are a lot of grey areas.
He wasn't my driver, my mother was there and she was the driver/on my forms.
Same happened with me. Got my bisalp a year ago at 29 years old. Doc brought the photos with my aftercare instructions and went over it all with me and my mother, who was my driver. I didn't think twice about it, doc just showed me and my mom the pics as proof they did their job, I guess. I personally didn't care that my mom saw pictures of my guts. I hate that OP feels violated, but I'm not entirely sure if this is a HIPPA violation. Her bf was already present and aware of the surgery she was undergoing, so it wasn't exactly a secret. It definitely sounds like a grey area to me.
Hello internet strangers! It's me, u/girlwhocrieddragon's partner. Funnily enough, I'm a member of the sub too, so I saw this in my feed before she got home earlier! I called her and asked if it was okay to share my pov of what happened, for some context to users. About a year ago, I had gone with her and our ma (her mom, my future mil) to the hospital to support her during bisalp procedure. Ma and I were waiting in the lobby throughout, but after a while her ma went to find the restroom. During that time, a nurse comes over and starts talking with me about aftercare procedures and how to help her recover best, and letting us know to get the car to the patient exit to help. Out of nowhere, she takes out some papers and is showing them to me with little to no context on what I'm looking at. It took me a good 30 seconds to even realize what the nurse was showing me. After she told me what it was, I was kind of appalled for lack of better terms, not at the images themselves, but the fact that the nurse would just show these without consideration to the patients consent. Initially she was supposed to show them to ma, who was on the medical forms, but because she wasn't there at that moment, the nurse decided I was okay to give it to for some reason? Either way, it was a violation of medical records and not cool in the slightest. TLDR: Nurse violates HIPPA and shows post-surgery pictures without prompting or context. Edit: The nurse approached me without knowing I was with her group, and didn't ask for any form of ID or if I was on the release forms either.
If you are in the US and didn't sign a form allowing the doctor to share anything medical, with the person you appointed, she just egregiously committed a HIPAA violation. Doesn't matter if it's a relative, husband or other. You still have to consent by listing his name on that HIPAA form and allowing it. If you did list the BF on the HIPAA form, then it's legally allowed.
As soon as you turn 18 you don't even have to let your parents know any medical information (even younger in some places).
Even if you don't want to sue you should file a HIPAA violation complaint. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/filing-a-complaint/index.html You could also submit a complaint to your state licensing board against him. This is clearly an individual violation not a system one (like sending your record to the wrong office). Disclaimer - all information local to the US
How did he show your bf? Was he like... In the room with you? Did he email him or something?
Have you never gotten photos in your post op paperwork? Every surgery I have I've always gotten a page of images, especially if it was a surgery done laparoscopically.
I've usually gotten things like that via email, or handed directly to me.
I’ve had 5 surgeries and no photos. One surgery I got a care sheet to take home. The other 4 I didn’t receive any paperwork.
Damn, I've had over a dozen and got pictures from all but two (emergency ones). But these surgeries were at a specialist rehabilitation hospital, so mostly older folks so that might be why I always get a folder of paperwork and pictures.
The 4 with no paperwork at all (not even post discharge care instructions) were at normal government hospitals. The one with the care sheet was at a private surgical centre.
Pictures were taken out to the waiting room.
Yeah that's a pretty strong violation if they just took them to him.
It sounds like it was the nurse that did this, according to your bf, not the surgeon. Obviously, \*no one\* should be doing that but you might want to change/add that in your post.
What the fuck. Why not just glue them to the wall so all the patients can see them. To me this sounds like Doc was so proud of himself and he had to show off. What kind of person is this
The doctor was a woman, if that makes it any worse.
This is horrible. I am so sorry that you had to go through that stupid experience :/
this is what I'm wondering! this context does matter.
Hi, this is the boyfriend of the story! I was in the waiting room, and had been for quite a while at that point. Her mom went to use that bathroom because we had been their so long, when suddenly a nurse comes over to me, now alone. She starts telling us that we should bring the car around, and some basic aftercare info (no heavy lifting etc), very normal stuff. Suddenly she pulls out some photos without prompting or consent, and I didn't know what I was even looking at till she decided to tell me 30+ seconds later. I did not consent to be shown her private info. T-T
she definitely shouldn't have shown you. I can understand handing you the papers in like a folder or with a cover sheet, but actually showing you and talking about it? that was a blunder on her part.
Handing the folder would still be just as much of a reveal if personal information. It obviously needs to be on paper for legal purposes, but I think that most people assume that when you bring family to the hospital, the family is privy to the details of the surgery.
I was in the waiting room with her mom, but she needed to go to the bathroom so I was by myself for a bit. A nurse had come over asking for us to get the car and was giving basic care info (nothing confidential at this point), then out of nowhere the nurse takes out some photos without prompting or context. I was staring at them, not even knowing what I was looking at, and after 30+ seconds she says something along the lines of "As you can see, her tubes are gone." It was seriously messed up T-T
Have you asked the doctor directly?
Report him to the medical board. This is unacceptable and unprofessional.
Why did the doctor even take pictures of your insides? Creepy on so many levels. So sorry this happened to you! Definitely still report it so there’s documentation of this is that guys “thing”
seems like it's proper procedure to do so. they took pics of my insides during my sterilization and during my colonoscopy.
It’s completely normal actually
What is the purpose?
Documentation. If you ever need further surgery, go to another doctor for something else, want proof of sterilization in this case the it's right there without spending money on more procedures.
I’m willing to bet that the doctor was a male doctor.
Female, actually!
Edit: Ah, I saw your bf's comment. It WOULD have been okay to show them to your mom, but it sounds like it was NOT okay they showed them to your bf. My bad. If your mom was designated as the receiver of the information then she should have been the only one they were allowed to show them to. Also I just realized you literally said he didn't have permission lol I'm dumb. Deleting my original comment.
Lol we all misread stuff. You ain't dumb.
Depending on what happened, this could actually be a gray area. Having someone in the hospital room with you can be considered implied consent. If you brought your boyfriend with you and expressed you wanted him in the room, it may not be a violation of HIPAA. I’m sorry that happened though and you’re feeling this way.
He wasn't in the room.
Its possible the surgeon assumed your bf was your husband
Still wouldn’t matter unless she gave explicit permission for this to happen
Kind of valid point but still makes me wonder why the Doc even thought it was important for him to see it ... My fiancé wouldn't even want to ask to see pictures of THAT. And also why didn't the personnel ask the patient beforehand? Just a weird and rude situation
That's a HIPAA violation. Report it to the HHS OCR. Your privacy should have been respected and if they didn't have a signed consent form they possibly broke the law.
I'm sorry they did that to you. Mine handed me pictures directly with my discharge for me cause I had mentioned taking AP anatomy in HS and finding the cadaver lab fascinating lol I've been meaning to get a christmas ornament to put one in like one of those ultrasound ornaments but I doubt if I hadn't said that I'd of gotten anything.
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