CPAPtalk.com

You should not have to pay to get your card or a copy back. The only fees that you might have to pay is for the DME to download and printout the results if you do not have the software.

Thanks for all the great replies, especially with HIPAA info.

Yes, I do have the software (through the helpful folks on this forum, in fact!) but had never downloaded from that card because I hadn't gotten a card reader for my computer yet. My own fault there.

I will be talking to the DME this morning and will let you all know what happens.

MM

Hopefully things went well w/your discussion w/the DME provider today.

Federal law does mandate that the records belong to the generating facility or medical professional. HOWEVER, Federal law also mandates that patients have a LEGAL RIGHT to COPIES of their medical records. It does allow the generating facility or medical professional to charge a REASONABLE FEE. I "think" I remember that it also states that they can NOT charge an access fee - but - I sure won't swear on that!

Request a full download printout - and hope and pray they haven't already done so and erased the data from the card. On second thought as long as they did a FULL download of ALL data and not just the compliance data, that shouldn't be a problem. They can just make copies of the printout copies.

This situation forewarns us all to download our data before any DME provider gets anywhere near it if we can - AND to have a spare data card. In fact, TWO spare data cards, as I did once encounter a corrupted data card, fortunately only one night after I'd done a download and I was able to get a new data card before the new detailed data after that one night was lost.

Good luck and God bless.

musicMaven wrote:Re: Who "owns" the data and the SD card?

No, I personally don't "own" any data or card. (Bad joke, sorry.)

It may be that the DME mule was instructed to confiscate the card in order to make sure that the old card was never put into the new machine, just in case the card itself or some instructions or information on the card (therapy info or time info) was the problem, or part of the problem, that could confuse, or change the setup of, the new machine.

Smart move, actually. That's why I doubt any DME would think of it without help from ResMed.

who wrote:

musicMaven wrote:Re: Who "owns" the data and the SD card?

No, I personally don't "own" any data or card. (Bad joke, sorry.)

terrible jnk , I mean joke

Better check your pressure

Gumby, my pressure is really, really good.

Under various Privacy of Information laws, she has committed a criminal offense by taking your personal data from you. That alone would net her and her company both some hefty fines and perhaps (with a cranky judge) jail time. North of the 49th. I can assure you, in no uncertain terms, it is a flagrant breach of the Privacy of Information Act and there is not question about the offense.

If in your sales agreement it does not specifically state that the SD Ramcard and the data thereon belongs to the supplier (note... the supplier is NOT the doctor) and that they have the absolute right, granted by you in writing, to keep that card and the data thereon, they have committed an act of theft. The have stolen YOUR SD Ramcard and YOUR personal data records (electronic or written makes no difference). The are guilty of a criminal offense - namely that of theft. Two counts.

Now, the question is - do you want to rock the boat and become known in the community as a bad ass to deal with, or would you be happy with just ensuring that your privacy is maintained or whatever? A call to the owner of the supply firm is certainly in order so that this does not happen to others. At the very least you are due an apology in writing from the firm (good luck).

Since it is the doctor that prescibed the equipment, the records contained thereon are, in essence, medical records, which are guarded for privacy by further law, over and above simply Privacy of Information laws. And THOSE laws have some serious teeth to them. The doctor/patient relationship is and always has been held in the highest regard and the breach of same by a third party and by intimidation and force nontheless would be seen by a DA/Prosecutor as a golden opportunity to bring the nasty perp to justice. BUT, do YOU want the publicity, the hassle, the costs of being represented in a criminal court proceeding and the resulting civil court proceeding?

Methinks that a simple apology might be something to shoot for so that others are not bullied and 'raped' of medical information. I double that you will ever see your data again as the card has likely already been formatted and is in use in another machine.

Good luck.

I don't think you will have any luck with a HIPAA complaint, as the card does not contain any PHI (personal health information) that is identifiable. The card has a lot of info, but NOTHING that ties that info to a specific person (you), so there is no HIPAA violation.

rnfuller wrote:I don't think you will have any luck with a HIPAA complaint, as the card does not contain any PHI (personal health information) that is identifiable. The card has a lot of info, but NOTHING that ties that info to a specific person (you), so there is no HIPAA violation.

It often has the persons name.

who wrote:Gumby, my pressure is really, really good.

That IS really good to know.

One other thing MusicMaven and that is that the more information you provide us on your profile, the better able we are to provide succinct and correct answers. If you are located in Canada for instance, the Privacy of Information Act will chew the supplier to bits and spit them out. A hefty fine and even the laying of a criminal charge (either by the Crown or by yourself by swearing out an Information in front of a JP) is not an unreasonable result of their actions. If they say that the information has been destroyed, this is insufficient as it must be destroyed in a certifiable manner, either before your eyes or by a firm that is certified to destroy personal documents and provide a certificate of having done so and in the case of electronics this is very difficult and very expensive. The firm in question will wind up being audited for the security of their electronic data in general (not only is their customer list which includes names and addresses private but the fact that these are MEDICAL records makes it even more so). The actions of the sales representative, without written permission from you, is criminal.

If you are using ResScan and have filled in the profile information, it may be contained on the card. Even if the card contains nothing that ties directly to you, the fact that it was YOUR card and the sales rep knows who the card was taken from, breaches privacy both in general and in terms of doctor/patient privilege. This is asides from the theft of the card itself and the theft of the electonic data contained thereon.

Question is, will you find a prosecutor that will take such a wee thing on if that's the way they view it? And do you want to rock the boat or bite the hand that feeds you?

I don't know for sure, but the fact that ResScan requires the user to choose a patient before downloading (unless you choose to download anonymously) indicates that the patient information is not on the card.

I don't know if this is the case for Encore and the Respironics cards.

The point is being lost here; namely, the fact that the person that 'swiped' the card knows where it came from and who it belonged to in and of itself makes the data on the card, medical or otherwise, personal data/information. Thus there are actually TWO causes of action under privacy of information. One, the theft and wanton abuse of medical records and two, the theft of data/information (regardless of it being medical or otherwise). This is on top of third party breach of doctor/patient confidentiality (possibly, as the doctor prescribed the data recording machine and expects the data thereon to be a part of his medical files), theft of the card itself and so on. Plenty of room for a gung-ho DA/Prosecutor to have some fun here. Whether or not the username is actually 'imprinted' on the data card is almost irrelevant as the person 'stealing' or breaching the medical records has full knowledge of whom those medical records, confidential information and data belongs to.

Mind you, in a criminal proceeding, I believe that "mens rea" must be proven (a guilty or culpable mindset) - so I have no idea, in the end, where this thing would actually go, if anywhere. A zeleous DA/Prosecutor is going to be happy for the opportunity for a good handslap, especially if this is an election year in your parts.

All I know is that if my DME had snatched my card out of my hand there would be one he** of a fight to get out my door without giving it back AND apologizing for doing it. I MIGHT have given them a copy of the data. I guess we do thing a little different in Texas.

Jerry