Ok, Just went to my doc’s office yesterday to get my medical doucuments signed for school in the fall. They had me sign all new HIPAA forms and update some other "privacy"forms. They were so concerned about “privacy laws”.
Then…They called my name to be seen by the doctor…they used my first and my last name 
There went my “privacy as the whole waiting area now knew my whole name”. 
This whole HIPPA thing is such a joke. The idea that it could in any way hurt me or violate my sacred “privacy” if a few other patients in the waiting room happened to overhear my last name, and thus learn that someone named Mr. McGrath happens to be seeing a doctor (shocking!), is ridiculous. But the federal government, unhindered by common sense, realized the importance of forcing impoliteness on our society by requiring that patients be called by their first name instead of Mr. or Mrs. so-and-so.
Because we all know that back in the dark ages, when the federal government graciously allowed medical office staff to exercise common courtesy and address people using accepted titles of respect, there was an absolutely unbearable society-wide epidemic of grave privacy violations going on. (Wishing there were an eye-rolling smiley.)
Our tax dollars at work.
And what a great way to help a cash-strapped health care system (one that we are repeatedly told by these same legislators is ‘in crisis’) than to load it up with a bunch of outrageously expensive and ridiculous beauracratic nonsense. Not to mention now we must have a whole branch of government to monitor the HIPAA regulations to be sure that nobody is breaking the rules…even though the laws are so complicated that you must break the rules just to offer care (i.e., the waiting room thing). HIPAA was enacted in 1996 to help streamline the medical care system…it has been nothing but headaches since. We will see if it every pays off.
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But the federal government, unhindered by common sense, realized the importance of forcing impoliteness on our society by requiring that patients be called by their first name instead of Mr. or Mrs. so-and-so.
Sorry to focus on this, but I’m glad that they no longer use “Mr.” or “Mrs.” etc… because many people from different countries and cultural backgrounds residing in the States that visit hospitals and doctor’s offices may prefer it that way - after all, so many names are unfamiliar to people who actually call the patients in. I wouldn’t want to use “Mr.” when in fact the patient turned out to be female. I’d rather just attempt to say the name itself…
Well,… it’s not a violation to say your name in a waiting room you are in with other people. What HIPPA does is protect privilged infromation to be given to someone not authorized to have that infromation. If you are present your name is not within that said statement unless you specify that limitation.
I have more and more fustration with this ludicrous law. We have always had to keep info confidential but now the government has stepped in and it is a disaster. I have admitted Hospice patients that I can’t get hospital records needed to document disease process and tx that needed by our Hospice medical director for a better care plan. The secretaries at the doctors offices tell me they cant realese the info and can’t talk to me without signed permission, I fax the documents from admission and still the infrmation is withheld at times due to HIPPA. 
HIPAA at my home health agency here in Dallas has had the office managers doing backflips. Gone is the handy mailbox at an office staffer’s house to drop off patient notes. (Like she would sit there and read them all night, yawn). Now they feel it necessary to enforce a SEALED envelope for nurse’s note drop off, so as not to let the cleaning staff read something. They are also losing money out the wazoo providing self addressed stamps envelopes at every home for the nurse’s to mail in their notes to the office, at 37 cents a pop, I can imagine that expense is adding up fast. We can’t use ANY identifiers, which our company claims, would include something as banal as “a pedi case in area code 75081”. Gov-speak at its finest.
Kathy (who apparently has more important things to do than the folks who run this country)