Job related question: Does this deserve to be hung up on?

Question

I work for a very large medical company and we're on the phones all day long with patients and doctor's offices providing free medication to those who qualify for it. We are bound by HIPPA regulations and are limited as to what we can say and to whom we can say it too. I guess one of my biggest per peeves is someone calling me about a patient and they are on a speaker phone. I don't know who's around them so when I give out patient info I would rather it be with the person I'm speaking with and they have the phone up to their ear. I got a call this morning and a woman was calling about a patient and you could tell she was on a speaker phone. Papers were rustling and her voice was trailing in and out like she was walking away from the phone then yelling back at it. I politely asked if she was on a speakerphone and she said yes. I then asked her if she didn't mind picking up the receiver because I wasn't comfortable giving out patient information on a speakerphone where someone else could possibly hear. I didn't know if she was in an office with others listening or home in her bedroom with other family members close by. Yes, she could have been alone but I wasn't willing to take that chance, again, HIPPA regulations. When I asked her she then hung up the phone. Was this really worth being hung up on?

Update:

The problem with Yahoo answers now is that it allows people to reply anonymously which means they can say what they want and you can't block them.

Anonymous · Answer

Same answer I give every time you post this - I am AMAZED that you are in the "medical field" and don't know it's HIPAA, not HIPPA.  Makes me question the number of times this has been posted and your veracity.  https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20210127161137AAbEar5

Shay · Answer

Maybe I'm missing something here.  2 of the 3 people who have responded said that this guy was in the wrong and it's not his job to protect the patient's information.  And I quote, "It's not your job or responsibility to control who someone else disseminates the information to."  But it is his job who he disseminates info to.  If I'm not sure who is listening to the speakerphone then I would much rather the person pick up the phone as well.  It doesn't sound like he was rude, he just asked to be taken off speaker.  Oh, I get it.  He's just a lowly customer service rep and he should just be happy to have a job, right?  He is bound by HIPPA regulations too and if he gives out info in earshot of someone who may not be authorized to hear said info the it could trickle down to him if anything were to happen to the patient's info.  I've been on the phone myself with people nd they had me on speaker and I asked them to take me off.  They didn't get all upset or in a tizzy about it.  I've been walking in stores and through the mall and people are talking to someone on speaker.  We really don't want to hear both sides of the conversation.  No, he wasn't rude or wrong.  If anything, he was protecting his job.

linkus86 · Answer

Your responsibilities to HIPPA is to not breach patient confidentiality unless expressly given permission by the patient.  It is admirable you care, but your responsibility IS NOT to insure how well others respect the HIPPA regulations.   And it is rude to demand people to act in any way without the authority to do so, thus being hung up on wasn't an unreasonable response to the rude behavior you initiated.  Sorry I couldn't provide you with the validation you sought.

? · Answer

I don't think you were out of line at all. The person you were speaking to sounds like a d**k.

Anonymous · Answer

You were out of line.

It's not your job or responsibility to control who someone else disseminates the information to.  That's their responsibility.

For all you know, this person may have a physical disability that precludes them from physically holding a phone to their ear.

Keep your pet peeve to yourself.  It's not someone else's problem and no one has to accommodate your preference.

If you cannot do your job without being a pain in the butt to others, you should be replaced.

Job related question: Does this deserve to be hung up on?

5 Answers