Thanks, smonster.

sj, it's not necessarily bad that your doctor didn't give you more information. In the age of HIPAA, doctors are wary about leaving messages that have PHI (personal health information).

Vortex, when I was on all the antibiotics last year, I didn't want to eat for a couple of weeks. Right when I really needed to keep my strength up.

Yesterday, I had a clean all the things fit and ended up cleaning the back of the stove with a toothbrush. (I wish I was kidding.)

It was in preparation for going to the H Mart, a Korean superstore, with some friends today. It was AMAZING! And overwhelming. I spent roughly half of what a similar haul would have cost here in the city.

There were so many things I couldn't even imagine how to cook that I wished I had a translator to give me tips. Then again, I might have spent a lot more.

Bonus, cherries for 2.99 a lb. I spent $20 on cherries alone.

sj, it's not necessarily bad that your doctor didn't give you more information. In the age of HIPAA, doctors are wary about leaving messages that have PHI (personal health information).

I'm not mad she didn't leave more information on the answering machine, just frustrated that I can't find out what happened until Monday. I'm all about instant gratification. The part that I am mad about is that she chose to call the PT before calling me to get my full account of the issues. I only left the briefest of messages regarding my concerns and would have liked to elaborate before she talked to the PT.

In the age of HIPAA, doctors are wary about leaving messages that have PHI (personal health information).

Our company's insurance agent, who is an incompetent jackass (seriously, if I started explaining all the ways why that's so, it would take several posts; bitching about him is a favorite pastime at my company), actually tried to threaten me, using HIPAA as his ammunition. He is, however, incredibly stupid. Or thinks *I* am.

Background: while I was on vacation, I threw my back out horribly. In that scary pinchy way that makes me gasp to bend at the waist even slightly, even a tiny bit. I did have some leftover flexiril and percocet with me (I really try to pack for every contingency when it comes to vacation), and Tim went to the CVS to get me a heating pad, so I took handfuls of drugs and laid on a heating pad all day. Fortunately, the pain subsided after about a day, so it all worked out.

But while I was in the middle of pinchy bad scary pain, I tried to figure out what to do, and I checked my insurance to see what urgent care places in North Carolina were covered. They said that no urgent care facilities AND no hospital ERs in North Carolina were considered in-network.

I thought that was weird, that most insurance will cover an ER visit if you're outside your "home" coverage area. But the person on the phone said no, everything is out of network and I have a $7,000 deductible to meet before they pay out-of-network claims.

Like I said, my back got better, but when I got back to work, I thought the thing about being out of network for an ER visit was shifty. So I e-mailed our insurance agent to ask him to clarify it (we recently switched insurance, so I figured it was possible our new insurance really was that crappy).

When he didn't respond after a week, I talked to Big!Boss's daughter, who is, I guess, technically our HR person as well. So she followed up with our insurance guy, to ask him what the deal was.

He replied to my e-mail within a day, and it was this scathing diatribe about how I misunderstood what our coverage is, and that ALL hospital ERs in the entire country are covered in-network and that is true no matter what the insurance company says.

(This, of course, is only one example of how he's an incompetent jackass; if the company that has the power to deny or pay my ER claim says that there is no coverage, I'm going to believe them over *him,* who has no financial say in whether my claim gets paid.)

Then he sent me a second e-mail to elaborate on how I need to "change my thinking" about medical emergencies and I obviously didn't understand the information he gave us about our new insurance and I just need to "read it until I understand it."

No, he really said all that. AND he copied Big!Boss's daughter on it. He is not too smart.

So Big!Boss's daughter reamed him a new one for speaking to a client that way, blah blah blah. (Which is right and proper, because -- damn. The man is an asshole.)

SO!!!! (This is where I finally get to the whole HIPAA thing; thank you, all 2 people who are still reading.)

Insurance!agent CALLS ME AT HOME Thursday night "to make sure I understood his e-mails." But mostly what he wanted to do was to scare me into NOT telling Big!Boss's daughter about his asshattery anymore. The very first thing he said to me was, "You need to understand that you are not allowed to tell [Big!Boss's daughter] about your medical issues. Unless you have given written permission, you cannot discuss your medical issues with anyone except your doctor and me. Otherwise, Big!Boss's daughter might get on the phone with the insurance and tell them something about your medical issue, and then the company [our company, not the insurance] could get sued and they would lose the company. HIPAA will not let you talk about your medical issues with Big!Boss's daughter."

I was torn between wanting to excoriate the hell out of him and wanting to laugh my ass off at him. It was the worst attempt at a bluff I have ever seen. And the sad part is? He told me at least 3 (continued...)

( continues...) more times during the conversation that HIPAA will not allow me to talk to Big!Boss's daughter about my medical issues or the company will get sued.

You tell me that many times not to do something, buddy, and I'm gonna think it's because when I did it, it got YOU in trouble. And, frankly, I do not give one damn about him. All I care about, in this context, is my own healthcare.

And as a final, amusing anecdote about not sharing medical information with people, while we were on the phone, Insurance!Agent told me all about a medical claim one of my co-workers had recently made, and he mentioned her by her full name.

No, really.

*Someone* is deeply stupid, but it isn't me.

So, I documented the whole call, and pulled up the Department of Health & Human Services' website about HIPAA, and pulled out all relevant info, and I *am* going to Big!Boss's daughter first thing tomorrow. Because this is BULLSHIT. You don't call me at home and try to intimidate me into shutting up by implying that my loose lips will lead to a lawsuit that will be the end of the company. And you certainly don't follow that up by telling my about my co-worker's medical issues BY NAME.

ow. The gentlemen just picked up Bartleby and all the stuff I packed for him.

I feel like a neurotic mother...'here's his doctor's name and his insurance card'...here is the route I'm taking (for my business trip tomorrow) and the car I'll be driving.

It hurt my heart to walk away from him.

The true facts are: Bartleby LOVES these guys. He loves their dog. He gets spoilt in ways he'd never get away with at home. They are the most responsible people I've ever known when it comes to pets.

Bartleby will have a great time and they have promised to send photos and updates throughout the day...which I won't have time for, but it's a sweet thought anyway.

Still, my house seems to empty.

(For the record, HIPAA covers what healthcare providers [or insurers, etc.] can share with third parties about patients' health info. Meaning, my employer [or mom, or whoever] couldn't just call my doctor and find out what I'm being treated for, etc. And that is pretty much it.

HIPAA certainly does NOT say that a patient is not allowed to talk about their medical issues to whoever they choose. If *I* choose to talk to Big!Boss's daughter about my back, that's not a violation of HIPAA.

Now, the part where Insurance!Agent told me about my co-worker's medical claim, and named her? Pretty sure that IS a big ol' violation of HIPAA.

The irony, it burns.)

One has to be deeply stupid to think that HIPAA keeps the patient from saying anything about her health. It is quite clear what company representatives cannot say without the patient's permission. Oops.

Damn, Steph.

One has to be deeply stupid to think that HIPAA keeps the patient from saying anything about her health.

Right?? Dear God.