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WalMart Gave Out My Prescription Info to My Ex

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  • 03-04-2009, 09:31 AM
    doitrit07
    WalMart Gave Out My Prescription Info to My Ex
    My question involves public health law in the State of: Michigan

    My to be ex went to WalMart pharmacy and received a list of my prescriptions. Is this a HIPAA violation? What can I do?
  • 03-04-2009, 03:57 PM
    dizzydezz55
    Re: WalMart Gave Out My Prescription Info to My Ex
    I'm not a lawyer, but I happen to see this post and know the answer, so I thought I would reply. I've working in medical compliance for over 5 years, so I'm pretty familiar with the rules and regulations. WalMart did in fact violate HIPAA when they gave your information to your spouse. The only time information can be released to ANYONE other than you is if you have signed a HIPAA waiver form specifying who is allowed to access information on your behalf (except in instances where medical records are required for a lawsuit or other legal reasons and this is obviously not one of those cases). I know you are supposed to file a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights within 180 days of finding out about the violation, but I don't know their contact information off hand...I'm sure you can Google it. I would also file a formal complaint with WalMart and let your insurance company know as well, because in instances like this, it is normally not an isolated event. The insurance company may want to conduct an investigation. I'm sure you also have a million legal rights as far as your spouse using that information for his benefit, but one of the experts here I'm sure can give you more accurate information about that. Hopefully some of that information helped!
  • 03-04-2009, 07:50 PM
    cyjeff
    Re: WalMart Gave Out My Prescription Info to My Ex
    Was your wife already picking up your prescriptions prior to this incident?
  • 03-05-2009, 12:28 PM
    dizzydezz55
    Re: WalMart Gave Out My Prescription Info to My Ex
    I don't think picking up prescriptions really has anything to do with it. Your spouse or someone acting on your behalf has every right to pick up your prescriptions and it's up to the pharmacist's disgretion as to whether or not they give them to that person. The issue here is that a Prescription History is considered a medical record, and no one is supposed to release medical records to anyone other than the patient, unless the patient is deceased. Also it can be released to a patient's legal guardian, provided that guardian provide proof of such relationship, or in the case of a subpoena for medical records (even that carries stringent guidleines). Plus, under HIPAA, you should have been notified by the pharmacy that they released your records, so if they failed to do that, they could be in even more trouble. They should have fired or severly reprimanded the employee and documented what steps were taken to educate him/her (most large corporations require anyone with access to PHI to sign a form stating they will not violate HIPAA before they are even allowed to clock in for the first time). I guess that was a round about way of saying that picking up someone's prescriptions and being given access to documents considered medical records are two completely different things.
  • 03-05-2009, 12:52 PM
    Mr. Knowitall
    Re: WalMart Gave Out My Prescription Info to My Ex
    How did she manage to obtain the list? I agree with the assessment that unless it directly related to your care (seemingly inapplicable under the circumstances) they should not release your prescription information without your consent. I'm just wondering if she simply asked for the list and they gave it to him, or if she somehow misled them.
  • 03-05-2009, 01:37 PM
    cyjeff
    Re: WalMart Gave Out My Prescription Info to My Ex
    While I certainly agree that the best course of action would have been NOT to give the list to the wife, I asked because I was thinking that if said wife had been authorized by the OP to pick up said prescriptions (including the associated cautions about their use), it COULD be argued that she already had the information.

    Still stupid on WalMart's part.
  • 03-07-2009, 09:45 AM
    doitrit07
    Re: WalMart Gave Out My Prescription Info to My Ex
    First of all, I am the wife. My to be exhusband who had never picked up a prescription for me went to WalMart and simply asked for the records. He was given them. I talked to WalMart Pharmacy and they said that is standard operating procedure. Then they said they mailed them to him at my address. That did alot of good as he had put in a forwarding address and it got forwarded to him. I have filed the complaint with the office that you recommended but have not heard anything. I am sure it will take sometime. I did it all over the net so hopefully I did what I needed to do. I guess I still need to talk to an attorney. Would the prosecuting attorney handle something like this?
  • 03-07-2009, 09:46 AM
    doitrit07
    Re: WalMart Gave Out My Prescription Info to My Ex
    P.S. Thank you very much for your help in this, I did not have a clue where to start!
  • 03-10-2009, 06:31 PM
    junker
    Re: WalMart Gave Out My Prescription Info to My Ex
    i am just living with my roommate and not married, but i pick up her prescriptions, and at the end of the year, i get a print out of all her prescriptions for the year , with no problems, not even having to sign anything....this is with multiple pharmacies and they are some hardcore drugs. i think unless you tell them SPECIFICALLY not to give info to anyone they will, i am guessing I could go in an get info on your prescriptions.
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