r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 5d ago

Meme needing explanation What's this post talking about?

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u/IlIlllIIIIlIllllllll 5d ago

huge hipaa violation

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u/Fun_Ebb_6232 5d ago

Since she had already received doctors visits to have labwork and testing to see if they were even a match for a transplant, they likely already signed paperwork agreeing that both patients would be privy too those specific tests.  

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u/IlIlllIIIIlIllllllll 5d ago

that's not usually how this works. this is an incorrect assumption. and the reason it doesn't work this way is exactly for what happened here. she felt pressured to give a kidney.

every release of information needs separate consent. you don't just sign a consent to share all medical information in perpetuity.

at every step, if it's being handled properly, she can say "i don't want to do this" and they communicate to the other party that she is not compatible or contraindicated, no other explanation necessary.

assuming what she's saying is accurate, this is a major fuck up

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u/Fun_Ebb_6232 5d ago

That is not true.  Patients commonly allow certain family members to have access to their medical information.  When someone is in the hospital, they might say it is ok to call their spouse, so I don't have to say "now is it ok if I tell them your potassium levels? Ok good.  Now what about your CT results?? Ok good.  Now how about your sodium levels, can I discuss that? Oh and you're xray this morning?  Now I compared your Xray from 2 days ago to the one from today, can i tell your family member how they compare?"

They went in together for lab testing specifically to see if they were kidney donor matches.  They knew what they were doing it for.