Posted on 03/08/2006 2:30:35 PM PST by indcons
For years, Janey Karp has battled depression and anxiety with the help of prescription drugs. Though millions of Americans do the same, Karp admits she is intensely private and can't help but feel stigmatized for needing medication to feel normal.
So when the 53-year-old Palm Beach resident read the Walgreens printout attached to her prescription last week for the sleep aid Ambien, she couldn't believe her eyes. Typed in a field reserved for patient information and dated March 17, 2005, was "CrAzY!!" In another field, dated Sept. 30, 2004, it read: "She's really a psycho!!! Do not say her name too loud, never mention her meds by names & try to talk to her when ... " The information continued onto another page but was not attached.
"I was devastated, humiliated and embarrassed," Karp said. "I honestly couldn't speak. I was trembling."
Karp filed suit Tuesday against Illinois-based Walgreen Co., accusing the nationwide retail chain of defamation, negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Walgreens is investigating, according to company spokeswoman Carol Hively, who said that computers are accessible to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
(Excerpt) Read more at sun-sentinel.com ...
..but, at the same time, her comments and actions in this situation seems to confirm the comments..
Sticks and stones ...
Absolutely. And she is a typical lib too.
Ooopsie!
I'm sure you are correct. I think Walgreen's is in trouble on this one.
She sounds like 80% of the women in Palm Beach County. Probably one of my mom's (who is a mental health counselor) clients.
An apology would be sufficient. Why should she get any money for this? Sheesh.
susie
Hollering her name and medications all over the store is bad enough, but it just got a whole lot more public with the lawsuit and this article in the paper.
I'm normally on the side agaist lawsuits, but this one is so deserved. This is horrible. If it was an inside joke that somehow got printed, they need to tighten up the ship. Of course, we all say and do things behind a person's back, but this is really humiliating to have it right in front of her in print. Wallgreen's is in deep doo-doo on this one.
Walgreens can take the position that they were trying to protect their employees from being attacked or worse by a prescipted-medicated "customer" [read:moonbat].
"your honor, its not liable. she REALLY IS CRAZY AND PSYCHO!"
As my man Bocephus sang in Mr Lincoln:
"Cause everybody sues over any little thing these days"
oh boy, are they in trouble ... not only Walgreens but the employees themselves, if they can be identified. I believe the fine for disclosing information is $10,000 per incident.
LOL! This just struck me as funny.
These were actually comments generated by the pharmacy in some capcity so they didn't break any hippa rules. She and the pharmacy workers are the only ones who saw it.
Whoever entered that information into her records should be severely disciplined, or fired. Walgreens should apologize to the lady, and that's that.
How can disclosure of patient info to the patient be a violation under HIPAA?
Now if they gave her info to ME or you.
But as the patient, she is entitled to those records.
It boils down to this: She is offended that someone else thinks this of her and now she wants them to pay.
(It is unprofessional, but not a HIPAA violation)
"I'm thinking they're thinking here comes psycho, that they're laughing at me as I come in the store'
They disclosed their opinion that she is a crazy psycho. And they only disclosed it to her!
I don't think that's really against the law.
What did they disclose? And to who?
Hmm....good point...got to think about that one. You may be right though.
Exactly, I thought the same thing.
me three!
Not to be needlessly argumentative... but: I see nothing in the entire article, linked above, giving any reliable sort of indicator whatsoever re: her political leanings, likely or otherwise.
The article does state she's spent the past two years battling various dependencies... but, if that's all it takes: then George Jones must have been "a typical lib," as well. (... and let's not even discuss Rush's self-confessed former Oxy abuse problem, for that matter...)
Don't think so. They didn't disclose this to the *public*. They disclosed it to her. On accident, I'm sure. What, now, Walgreens should pay cause their employees thought her to be nuts and jotted down customer comments in order to better serve he (ie, don't feed the neurosis) ? I say she owes them.
If anything, the store should be punished at a local level. Maybe something like a $5000 gift certificate for THAT store. But a multi million dollar lawsuit against Walgreens corporation is ridiculous ! (I can picture the Breck Girl fighting this woman's case..)
And well they should. They should also thank their lucky stars that this didn't result in her attempting to commit a successful suicide.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that "they" aren't out to get you.
Is it a HIPAA violation to give information about a patient's multiple personality disorder to the wrong personality?
As a follow up to my prior post, Tort reform is the answer to what is surely going to happen.
Lawyers want cash. They don't want half of a $5,000 gift certificate.
I was once married to one like this. This woman will never turn this loose and, even after it's settled, she'll find a way to sue the lawyer who represents her. It goes on forever. I know. I've been divorced from mine since 1994 and I still hear about the people who have offended her and how she's going to get them. She went through 3 lawyers during our divorce because the lawyers kept firing her as a client. These medications are a dangerous balancing act.
There is no cause for a law suit IMO. She didn't lose a dime. Further, based on her reaction to the note, has proven the note writers correct. At best she should get an apology for their bad manners. Nothing more.
"I'm normally on the side agaist lawsuits, but this one is so deserved."
While I agree with your sentiment, I can never feel good about these kinds of lawsuits. Because she was embarrased or got her feelings hurt is no reason to award her some huge settlement, which is certainly where this is headed. I write internal notes all the time. If I enter them in the wrong field, the customer will be able to see them on reports. Luckily, I haven't been sued yet for typing in the wrong field.
Whatever happened to going to the owner/manager, throwing a fit and refusing to ever do business with them again while telling your story to everyone who will listen? Do I get a million everytime some moron in some business wrongs me? I am growing to hate our sue-happy society.
I don't think the customer had any right to reveal the private comments made by the Walgreen's employees. Perhaps they can sue her!
Walgreen's had every right to make such comments to the employees who may come in contact with her, for their safety, but those comments should not have been made known to her.
Who knows? I am enough of a cynic to think that this is not a true story anyway.
Agreed. Unprofessional, but not a HIPAA violation.
But, sounds like the pharmacy's internal "notes" were justified.
Is "Crazy", and "psycho" entered by a drugstore clerk "medical information" - or more technically, "protected health information"? I don't think so. It is an opinion only, and certainly not a medical diagnosis, as the article itself even states. Also, HIPAA obviously does not prohibit health care personnel such as the Walgreens pharmacists working different shifts from sharing at least some "protected health information" with each other. Even though the informatoin is linked throughout the Walgreens nationwide database, it is unlikely that anyone who works at Walgreens spends time reading comments made about customers other than the one they are waiting on at any particular time.
There may be some kind of lawsuit here, but I don't see a HIPAA violation.
The fact that she rushed to file a lawsuit for this (!) is the giveaway. I am all for Walgreens profusely apologizing on their knees to this woman , firing the clerk and giving her a generous store voucher. But in no way is this lawsuit material!
Ummmm...I can tell she has done everything possible to prevent this from becoming public.
"There may be some kind of lawsuit here, but I don't see a HIPAA violation."
There can be no lawsuit if there is no HIPAA violation, right? I mean, what else can she sue them for?
Intensely private until she saw a few $$$$$ looming with this lawsuit. I guess she ain't so crazy after all.
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