Hippa violation

I just came from the Emergency room at a hospital. I suffer from agoraphobia and axiety it was hard to be there but i was in so much adominal pain. I informed the nurse and Doctor of my condition. I was treated for the pain and the r/o things with some test. I was still in a lot of pain i am new to my area which i also informed them. I was asked if i follow up with the clinic and i said no i called some doctors in my area due to my condition I can't be around alot of people in crowds and unfimiliar place which is agoraphbia. I started crying at this point because i was told its not much they can do but send me home due to the fact its and er and i need go to the clinic. I started to panic thinking about not being cared for back and forth to there emergency room with no help. I explained i tried to make an appointment in my area where i felt it was safe place for me. The appointment was booked so i had to come back. The nurse ask me if i felt like hurting myself and i told her sometimes because i was tired of always being afraid. I was place on a one to one. However they were short staffed i assume because they place me in a hallway which made me panic more with a tech to watch two patients one was in the room when i was in the hallway. The Doctor came to me and asked me infront of hospital staff and patients and patients relatives loudly. Do you want to hurt yourself and i started crying i felt embarresed everyone was looking at me so i put my head down and cried and shook my head. She continues this converstation in infront of everyone and said i must answer loudly without shaking my head. I feel my rights were violated embarresed and all i wanted to do was escape how could a doctor be so unaware of HIPPA Law. Patients rights. I am home and I am scared to go to another hospital. what do i do?

You can file a HIPAA complaint with the Department of Health and Human Services.

Here is a link to a their page with more information:

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr...

You can also call the hospital and ask to speak to a Patient Advocate and file a complaint directly with the hospital.  It doesn't justify the doctor's poor bedside manner but the difficulty in getting treated in any ER is a lack of bed space.  Sometimes during very busy times they have to place patients in hallways and HIPAA becomes next to impossible to maintain.  

The biggest and best thing you can do right now is find a good counselor to help you deal with your other issue(s).  

HIPAA (not HIPPA) does not preclude a patient being placed in a hall in a busy emergency room or having a conversation with a doctor there.

See this page:  http://www.hhs.gov/ocr...

In these circumstances, reasonable precautions could include using lowered voices or talking apart from others when sharing protected health information. However, in an emergency situation, in a loud emergency room, or where a patient is hearing impaired, such precautions may not be practicable. Covered entities are free to engage in communications as required for quick, effective, and high quality health care.

When I broke my patella a year ago, the ER rooms were filled.  I couldn't remain in the ambulance.  What option did I have?  To keep silent on the gurney until a room opened, and THEN discuss what occurred with a nurse?  Wouldn't the hospital have been sort of liable if the reason I broke my patella was because I had a heart attack and fell -- and they did nothing to avoid me going into cardiac arrest?

Anna5126:

how could a doctor be so unaware of HIPPA Law. Patients rights.

I believe they are quite familiar with it, and with patients' rights.  Nothing you've described suggests intentional or accidental disclosure -- after all, you've posted nothing that suggests a negative occurrence resulting from this.

http://www.strategiesf...

Hopefully, a therapist is helping you with the agoraphobia.

Good luck.

SOrry, but I do not see a HIPAA violation.