I (62F) 100kg 165cm aus. I recently was in the ED awaiting admission. Two nurses were chatting and one of them shared they had nursed a celebrity (she used his name). She went into details of why he was seeking medical attention and had promised her an autograph if she looked after him nicely. This has been playing on my mind and I'm not sure if I should do something and if so what?
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This is most likely against the law where you live but will obviously depend on the laws in your state (even in Australia I understand the laws could well be different between states).
I would suggest that your first course of action is a written complaint to the hospital with as much fact in it as possible stating exactly what you heard and when and where, describing the people involved as much as you can.
I agree with you that this isn't ok.
Thank you, I will write to the hospital. As an average person I would be upset knowing nurses were discussing my issues publicly. Just because he is a public figure doesn't mean he isn't entitled to privacy.
Nad but I'd also let him know too. That's disgraceful and a gross invasion of privacy.
NAD but a healthcare worker In AUS - email the hospitals risk and quality team, you can also report to AHPRA, thiugh the hospital will take it very seriously. This is a massive breach, they will be spoken to and may lose their job. I understand they were excited and clearly let that go to their head, but at the end of the day they breached confidentiality.
Layperson/not a healthcare professional
I'd just forget all about it. If you didn't say anything directly to the gossip AT THE TIME, then don't risk their job now.
They risked their own job when they chose to do that. Don't put that on OP.
Why not. They fucked up.
They were talking about him by name and his medical condition so that others could hear. That is literally a HIPAA violation. They should lose their jobs.
HIPAA has absolutely zero relevance here as OP is in Australia but I agree, this is unacceptable.
Yeah I'm trying to get out of the habit of assuming everything is where I live.
The nurse should be reported for breaching the patient's confidentiality. She should not have disclosed that information to her colleague in the first place. Pretty serious matter.
Especially loud enough that patients in the waiting room heard. Celebrities aren’t just random patient names that you don’t know, if you were overhearing the conversation. They are easily identifiable to the general public. So now everyone in the waiting room will know that celebrity’s personal health info and can repeat it to anyone else they like. A massive, massive breach could have occurred.
Random question, but would disclosing the name only still be a violation?
I assume saying you saw them in the ER would be a violation because that's medical, but what if you don't, like "oh I saw XX today and got an autograph!"
Hey report this to AHPRA if you got the name of the nurse, they’ll investigate this. Absolutely not okay behaviour.
Unsure of your exact laws but this is so obviously a flagrant breach of confidentiality.
Report. The nurse will be fired and blacklisted. Likely have thier license stripped.
This is basically the highest form of no no
I mean, I can think of a litany of bigger no nos.
In this context? Not really.
Privacy laws are slam dunks when it comes to violations. VIP charts are sacrosanct.
I have taken care of my share of F500 C suites and actual celebs. The level of scrutiny these charts and conversations have is on a different level.
Talking about them with anyone is boneheaded. At bare minimum they’ll never allow you near them again. The charts have two layers of glass and are actively monitored for access. I had one that was BADGE LOCKED. Yea. Cool shit indeed.
You’re literally extinguishing your ability to ever work again. No employer will touch you and you’ll get sued into the ground.