02-08-2009, 05:47 PM
I read about this case in the paper and find it disturbing, but not surprising. There's certainly something going on that we do not know and my suspicion is that it deals with HIPPA.
My S/O's mother is dying up in Pennsylvania, his twin sister has POA (she's on the scene and J is here in Florida). HIPPA laws prevent J from getting medical updates on his own Mother without his sister's intervention. His sister has to provide him with some code number that will identify him as family, BUT every time they move his mother to another room, floor or facility the number changes. It also changes every 10 days for "security reasons"! This means J can call the same hospital or care facility, talk to the same nurse or his mom's doctor and they can't up date him until he has the new number.
Even his sister cannot see "mom" if the code number has changed until she pulls out the POA and proves her identity yet again. The whole thing is stupid and unnecessary. Some nanny law designed to protect 85 year old "mom" from her children? What have we come to?
My S/O's mother is dying up in Pennsylvania, his twin sister has POA (she's on the scene and J is here in Florida). HIPPA laws prevent J from getting medical updates on his own Mother without his sister's intervention. His sister has to provide him with some code number that will identify him as family, BUT every time they move his mother to another room, floor or facility the number changes. It also changes every 10 days for "security reasons"! This means J can call the same hospital or care facility, talk to the same nurse or his mom's doctor and they can't up date him until he has the new number.
Even his sister cannot see "mom" if the code number has changed until she pulls out the POA and proves her identity yet again. The whole thing is stupid and unnecessary. Some nanny law designed to protect 85 year old "mom" from her children? What have we come to?