Can a letter to a Doctor found on a work computer be used against the employee or is this HIPAA violation?

Question

I typed this letter to my doctor and the letter was titled "Dear Dr. Matias" on the computer at work and I emailed it to my doctor. I meant to delete it once sent and forgot. It was found by a co-worker who read it and forwarded it to another employee and my supervisor who also read it. The letter was then sent by my Supervisor to his Supervisor and the HR department. 3 weeks later I find this out by getting a verbal warning for misuse of the work computer for just the typing it at work and was told they observed my work for 3 weeks and found no problems at all but they were concerned about the content in the letter. I have been treated differently at work by co-workers and the supervisor and I feel my privacy was hugely violated and very wrong assumptions were made on the content in the letter. I don't know whether to contact a lawyer about HIPAA violation or whether to just hope it blows over and gets forgotten in a few months. I feel this jeopardized a possible promotion coming soon. My supervisor even said I was being viewed differently now. He changed my schedule, cut my hours, and temporarily assigned me to different duties because of this. What should I do now?

Answer 1

there is no expectation of privacy on a workplace computer....

workplace computer=work

if you open up your private e-mail box at work, thats an open invitation into your life...

Answer 2

i'm a medical biller ( 10 years of medical journey) and a junior in well-being administration.i don't comprehend if a lost chart truly could be a HIPAA violation. it is consistently obtainable that it is interior the place of work and in basic terms not the place it is going to be, i might think of that clerical errors like this does not be a HIPAA violation. some thing that replaced into truly performed intentional or if the chart replaced into taken outdoors of the place of work and lost then i might think of it could be a HIPAA violation. desire this permits some.......

Answer 3

Anything you put out on a company computer is accessible (and often monitored) by your employer. Even deleted items are stored on the server and can be pulled up. There's no HIPAA violation here as HIPAA sets the requirement against medical personnel releasing your information. It doesn't protect you when float the information out there and it's found.

Answer 4

Your concerned about your privacy and use a computer at work to email your dr? Thats your mistake. Email from home and you will get the privacy you want.



You said:

They were "concerned about the content in the letter"



Was this anything to do with your health or do you have something going on with this "Dr" ?

Obviously something serious or freaky was mentioned in that email and frankly, I have never heard of communicating with your family Dr via email.

Answer 5

Hippa does not apply here. Doctors are bound by Hippa not your coworkers. You having left the letter on a company computer caused the problem. Sorry to say you left yourself open for this problem. All you can do is wait and see how things work out. Good Luck.

Answer 6

They pay you to work not tend to personal business on company time. Let it go and hope it blows over. Anyway, what would you tell the atty? "I was at work taking care of my personal business and I got caught and now I want to sue them for reading my personal mail"