Women look for many things when they go to an OBGYN, and one of them is privacy. They expect that their information would be protected no matter what. So imagine how surprised a Georgia woman was after her OBGYN office called her husband’s ex-wife to talk about her own pregnancy. She posted on TikTok to share what happened, believing it was a clear HIPAA violation. The woman called to book an appointment, and they sent her a voicemail. Before continuing, she pointed out that the office had her and her husband’s information in her file. Later, her husband called to book the appointment, and he was also sent to voicemail. That was when he left a message asking them to call him back at his number.
While the Georgia husband’s instructions were clear, the OBGYN office didn’t call him allegedly. They didn’t call his wife either. What they did instead was to call the ex-wife and talk to her about the pregnancy of her ex-husband’s current wife. The office didn’t even verify who they were talking to. They then told the ex-wife that they were calling her because she was an emergency contact. This wasn’t correct. The woman said the ex-wife was listed as an emergency contact on her husband’s old insurance. She isn’t listed in the new one. The current wife also pointed out that it was weird that the office would call an emergency contact just to schedule an appointment.
The ex-wife was kind enough to point out to the office that they made a mistake. Instead of calling the husband or the wife to admit what they just did, the office didn’t do anything. Of course, the Georgia woman tried to contact them to find an explanation for what they did. Well, no one answered her, so she left a voicemail. She later posted an update on what happened next. The minute she posted the original video to complain, the OBGYN office called her back. Apparently, the office has two locations and one of them isn’t near the woman. For some reason, the far one was where her appointment was booked and not the one near her. Therefore, on the call, the person who spoke to her didn’t apologize. They instead told her that her appointment wasn’t even at that location.
Thankfully, the employee transferred her to the other office, and she left a voicemail with HR. A while later, the front desk attendant called the wife and admitted she was the one who had called the ex-wife. She took full blame, but she also admitted to committing another HIPAA violation. The lady told the woman that she looked up her husband’s chart. That definitely wasn’t needed here. According to the employee, when she looked up his chart, she found his ex-wife’s number, which is why she called her. Why wouldn’t she just call back the number that the husband provided when he tried to book the appointment?
The Georgia couple had every right to be upset, even though the front desk lady apologized. The husband later called and cancelled the appointment altogether. He then tried to verify his wife’s number to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. Guess what? His ex-wife’s number was still the one listed. So the office didn’t fix anything. Now the woman is looking for a new OBGYN, which is understandable.
People Reacting to the Georgia Woman’s Video
Everyone was just as shocked as the Georgia woman at what her OBGYN office did. Many even believed that the office did this on purpose, as one woman wrote, “Someone in that office KNOWS HER…” One person also said, “I work in admission- they had to go out of their way to find her number, this was intentional.” Others started leaving comments agreeing that this was a HIPAA violation. “She technically made TWO HIPAA violations. 1st being that she went into your husband’s chart without indication. 2nd being that she called the incorrect patient. Please file a formal complaint,” someone said. Another person wrote, “Finally, a real example of a HIPAA violation.”
More people expressed their outrage regarding what happened to the Georgia woman. A lot of people actually encouraged her to sue, as one person wrote, “Sue them and get that college fund set up.” Another person said, “Uh yes I’d be calling your states HIPAA Violation statute. Doesn’t cost you a dime & they work fast, also contact a lawyer, that is free too.” There was one woman who tried to defend the office as she said, “I can understand the concerns. Truthfully, I think they made an honest mistake. They probably got the voicemail, looked up his phone # in the system to call ‘the wife’ back, meaning you. He’s probably still listed as an emergency contact for the ex wife there which is how she got the call (thinking she was the current wife). Has nothing to do with insurance.” What they did was still wrong.
