I worked at a pharmacy and the only time it actually happened was when a patient tried to sell their Vicodin to an undercover cop outside the store. The cop came in and asked for the information about the prescription and we gave it to him.
Yeah, I didn’t say any of that but ok. HIPAA/employers actually require you to give law enforcement information in a variety of situations, including specifically the situation I mentioned:
To report PHI that the covered entity in good faith believes to be evidence of a crime that occurred on the covered entity’s premises (45 CFR 164.512(f)(5)).
Is that without a warrant? It wouldn’t be hard to impersonate a cop or even a cop with a grudge against someone to come find out what medications they are taking to dig further into someone’s lives and ruin said life.
Yes, without a warrant. It’s in the Privacy Notice in any retail pharmacy.
Impersonating a cop is a pretty big step that’s illegal in its own right but we did have moms trying to see if their adult daughter was on birth control, but that’s pretty easy to stop. Just lock their profile and ask the patient to make up a passcode or only deal with them in person.
I might be pretty stupid, but why would police even want medical information? In what way are medical records a help in any police duty?
Edit: thanks for the responses. My only comment is that these examples are fucking terrifying.
Here’s a scary one:
“patient is suspected of having an abortion give me medical records”
“K here you go”
First one that came to mind when I saw the title TBH. First it was period tracking apps, now this. Scary state of things
Helps a cop gain evidence against a perp.
“You’re on this medication, we got it from X pharmacy. You shouldn’t have been driving while on it, should you?”
I worked at a pharmacy and the only time it actually happened was when a patient tried to sell their Vicodin to an undercover cop outside the store. The cop came in and asked for the information about the prescription and we gave it to him.
Freely admits on the internet to violating someone’s right to due process. But they were a druggie, so no biggie right?
Yeah, I didn’t say any of that but ok. HIPAA/employers actually require you to give law enforcement information in a variety of situations, including specifically the situation I mentioned:
HHS - When does the Privacy Rule allow covered entities to disclose information to law enforcement
Is that without a warrant? It wouldn’t be hard to impersonate a cop or even a cop with a grudge against someone to come find out what medications they are taking to dig further into someone’s lives and ruin said life.
Yes, without a warrant. It’s in the Privacy Notice in any retail pharmacy.
Impersonating a cop is a pretty big step that’s illegal in its own right but we did have moms trying to see if their adult daughter was on birth control, but that’s pretty easy to stop. Just lock their profile and ask the patient to make up a passcode or only deal with them in person.
bootlicker