Sound Masking Prevents HIPAA Violations Sound Masking Stops Confidentiality Leaks at the Doctor's Office Sound Masking Can Protect Your Patient's Privacy
It was 2006 and my husband and I were sitting in the waiting room of my OB/GYN's office. I was pregnant with our first child and just there for a routine visit. It was an early morning appointment, so there was only one other person in the waiting room with us. I remember noticing her because she looked young and she wasn't noticeably pregnant (like people who joined me in the waiting room usually were.) The nurse called her back by name very shortly before they called me back.
As my spouse and I sat in the exam room and chatted, we heard the obstetrician open the door to the exam room right next to us and greet the woman who had been in the lobby with us. Then, we very plainly heard a conversation between them about how the girl had engaged in some hazardous practices and now was worried she had acquired an STD. My spouse and I looked at each other flabbergasted that we had been privy to information that was definitely none of our business. We also did not like the fact that, if we could hear them as plainly as if they were seated in the room beside us, then they obviously could hear us and our confidential exchanges as well.
Before the doctor came into the room, I attempted to find out the reason the noise was carrying so well between the two rooms. I found out that the space had been retrofitted to fit the needs of this medical practice and that the wall between the two rooms came right up next to a window. There was a tiny amount of space between the window and the wall and that was the cause of the noise leak.
Besides it being an obvious breach of HIPAA practices, this type of issue could conceivably effect a doctor's relationship with and care that they give to a patient. If the person discovers that what they tell their doctor is not necessarily confidential, they could be more reluctant to give out details that could be pertinent to what care they should be receiving. The trust between a patient and a doctor should be fostered and safeguarded and this kind of disregard for the confidentiality of what is shared could be detrimental to that.
An easy solution for the issue would be to outfit the space with sound masking technology. With the addition of some slight background noise in each room, it would not have been nearly so easy to hear conversations in other rooms.
A straightforward solution for the problem of audible breaches of confidentiality would be to outfit the place with sound masking technology. With the addition of some barely noticeable background or "white" noise in each room, it would not have been nearly so easy to hear exchanges in other rooms.
Published April 29th, 2010
Filed in Health