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I don't think it is an example of an unintended consequence

So you think Congress intended HIPAA to be used as an "excuse for secretiveness and cover ups"?

Could be.

As mentioned before, the nurse who died was the first nurse on the phone. She said very little and simply put the call through to the second nurse who gave all the information. The second nurse did not harm herself. There must have been a lot more going on in the the first nurse's life for her to do something so tragic and leave behind two kids.

It was a silly, amusing joke. Prince Charles found it amusing. Possibly the Queen, herself, might have found it amusing. No-one could foretell the outcome, if indeed it was the prank that pushed the nurse over the edge.

debtheveg wrote:As mentioned before, the nurse who died was the first nurse on the phone. She said very little and simply put the call through to the second nurse who gave all the information. The second nurse did not harm herself. There must have been a lot more going on in the the first nurse's life for her to do something so tragic and leave behind two kids.

It was a silly, amusing joke. Prince Charles found it amusing. Possibly the Queen, herself, might have found it amusing. No-one could foretell the outcome, if indeed it was the prank that pushed the nurse over the edge.

Deb,

You know I respect your opinions alot but in this case, I have to vehemently disagree with you.

By the way, even though the 2nd nurse didn't harm herself, she was extremely distraught.

As others have mentioned which I agree with, when you try to get someone to disclose confidential medical information, that is way beyond a silly amusing joke. Depending on the countries, it is a violation of the law.

Again, this isn't about lacking a sense of humor. It is about lacking a sense of decency and compassion in the name of chasing ratings.

49er

49er wrote:Again, this isn't about lacking a sense of humor. It is about lacking a sense of decency and compassion in the name of chasing ratings.

I'm with you, 49er, a hundred percent. I have family members that are big teasers. Sometimes what they find funny is hurtful to the recipient. They have an attitude that if you don't find their teasing funny, you're over sensitive and can't take a joke. I've told them again and again that when teasing is hurtful and causes any kind of emotional pain to the recipient, it's NOT funny and shouldn't be done.

Sometimes what they think is funny and an acceptable joke astounds me. This mentality they have is something I cannot wrap my mind around.

Pranks are the same thing. These things stop being funny if they cause *any* sort of problems for ANYBODY, be those problems emotional or legal. And I personally find this particular prank tasteless and not funny.

49er wrote: As others have mentioned which I agree with, when you try to get someone to disclose confidential medical information, that is way beyond a silly amusing joke. Depending on the countries, it is a violation of the law.

Again, this isn't about lacking a sense of humor. It is about lacking a sense of decency and compassion in the name of chasing ratings.

49er

I wonder if it is illegal in Australia. When I've had to get information by phone about a relative there has never been a mention of privacy concerns.

I had a job once where I had to sort out the prank callers while never making a mistake and being impolite to a legitimate one. It's very stressful. More so if you are obsessed with never making a mistake on the job. Which of course is the kind of nurse I personally want.

Eddie Fasolino wrote:Weak argument trying to use emotion by turning the case on the opponent.

There is no indication the Duchess or the Queen or any other members of the family were offended because the public found out the Duchess had morning sickness and did not "retch on the second nurse".

Try developing a better argument if you want to advance your weak case.

rights of privacy protected by law

HIPAA is a silly, costly and dangerous law passed by an ever-growing government that is creeping daily into more mundane aspects of our lives.

Obviously you did not read my post, nor the article, very carefully. The criminal offense involved is not about HIPPA but about pre-texting - impersonation of another person - in order to obtain confidential financial or medical information.

Maybe you think that HIPPA and even the prohibition of pre-texting are stupid laws, but they are still the law, both in England and the United States.

Maybe you don't care who gets your medical information, and perhaps wouldn't even mind if your neighbor or a co-worker or maybe other people here on cpaptalk obtained copies of your bank accounts and credit card purchases by pre-texting. But some people would mind, and appreciate the fact that there is a law making it a criminal offense. If it happens to you, however, feel free to overlook it as merely a silly prank, not a violation of your privacy.

Nate

MidnightOwl wrote:

49er wrote: As others have mentioned which I agree with, when you try to get someone to disclose confidential medical information, that is way beyond a silly amusing joke. Depending on the countries, it is a violation of the law.

Again, this isn't about lacking a sense of humor. It is about lacking a sense of decency and compassion in the name of chasing ratings.

49er

I wonder if it is illegal in Australia. When I've had to get information by phone about a relative there has never been a mention of privacy concerns.

I had a job once where I had to sort out the prank callers while never making a mistake and being impolite to a legitimate one. It's very stressful. More so if you are obsessed with never making a mistake on the job. Which of course is the kind of nurse I personally want.

Australia does have privacy laws and it is illegal to collect a person's medical information without their consent (with a few exceptions). So it would be a violation of privacy law here.

Not heard any talk of our privacy comissioner looking to take action though.

Keep in mind that they never asked for medical or confidential information.

They asked to speak with Kate. That is all they asked. And they expected to be denied.

The nurse said that Kate was asleep and then VOLUNTEERED the confidential information.

Good point!

I hope those DJs sue the station and win big.

zoocrewphoto wrote:Keep in mind that they never asked for medical or confidential information.

They asked to speak with Kate. That is all they asked. And they expected to be denied.

The nurse said that Kate was asleep and then VOLUNTEERED the confidential information.

With all due respect Zoo Crew, I feel you are missing the point.

First of all, when you pull a prank like this, it is with the intention of publicly humiliating and embarrassing someone to get ratings. Sure, the chances of them succeeding were not great but I refuse to let folks off the hook who have this intention even though they are not to blame for the nurse's suicide.

And even though they didn't expect to succeed, it was still with the intention of hopefully getting confidential medical information to be disclosed which has been discussed in previous posts. They weren't calling to wish the nurses a Merry Christmas or a happy new year.

49er

Whatever the DJ's true intentions were, the bottom line is they impersonated someone that would have had access to the confidential medical information and by doing so, obtained it.

Dancing around what their intentions really were is pointless. What they did WAS wrong.

Impersonating a Law Enforcement Officer is ILLEGAL. There are good reasons for that.

What these DJ's did should be just as illegal.

I am astounded at the number of people that think this was a harmless joke and try to excuse it.

Wow.

Impersonating the Queen of England is a hilarious gag. No more, no less.

In my younger days I would have tried it.

debtheveg wrote:As mentioned before, the nurse who died was the first nurse on the phone. She said very little and simply put the call through to the second nurse who gave all the information. The second nurse did not harm herself. There must have been a lot more going on in the the first nurse's life for her to do something so tragic and leave behind two kids.

It was a silly, amusing joke. Prince Charles found it amusing. Possibly the Queen, herself, might have found it amusing. No-one could foretell the outcome, if indeed it was the prank that pushed the nurse over the edge.

CowFish wrote:Impersonating the Queen of England is a hilarious gag. No more, no less.

In my younger days I would have tried it.

You two have it right. I threw many cases out unceremoniously and this would have been one of them.

Judge Nap wrote:

debtheveg wrote:As mentioned before, the nurse who died was the first nurse on the phone. She said very little and simply put the call through to the second nurse who gave all the information. The second nurse did not harm herself. There must have been a lot more going on in the the first nurse's life for her to do something so tragic and leave behind two kids.

It was a silly, amusing joke. Prince Charles found it amusing. Possibly the Queen, herself, might have found it amusing. No-one could foretell the outcome, if indeed it was the prank that pushed the nurse over the edge.

CowFish wrote:Impersonating the Queen of England is a hilarious gag. No more, no less.

In my younger days I would have tried it.

You two have it right. I threw many cases out unceremoniously and this would have been one of them.

Hmm, what if someone had impersonated an official to obtain your daughter's confidential health information such as an abortion? Would you still think it was a harmless prank and want another judge to dismiss it?

49er

49er wrote:

Judge Nap wrote:

debtheveg wrote:As mentioned before, the nurse who died was the first nurse on the phone. She said very little and simply put the call through to the second nurse who gave all the information. The second nurse did not harm herself. There must have been a lot more going on in the the first nurse's life for her to do something so tragic and leave behind two kids.

It was a silly, amusing joke. Prince Charles found it amusing. Possibly the Queen, herself, might have found it amusing. No-one could foretell the outcome, if indeed it was the prank that pushed the nurse over the edge.

CowFish wrote:Impersonating the Queen of England is a hilarious gag. No more, no less.

In my younger days I would have tried it.

You two have it right. I threw many cases out unceremoniously and this would have been one of them.

Hmm, what if someone had impersonated an official to obtain your daughter's confidential health information such as an abortion? Would you still think it was a harmless prank and want another judge to dismiss it?

49er

My thoughts exactly. It's so easy to laugh something like this off, citing "harmless prank" but these same people would most likely NOT find it funny if THEY were on the receiving end of these "harmless pranks."